Eliatra Sabre: A Jedi's Journey
by Eliatra Sabre
Summary: 16 year old Jedi padawan Eliatra Sabre and her friends get into plenty of trouble and exasperate their masters both on and off their Dantooine enclave. But as Orion begins to see Eli as more than a friend, how will Tris react? Approx. 10 yrs before Kotor.
1. Beginnings

The _Sapphire Breeze _came out of hyperspace to within viewing distance of the peaceful planet of Alderaan. From here, you could see the lushness of the planet, and seeing the familiar greenness made the _Breeze_'s pilot, the Jedi Austrina Lelovare, think of home and her many visits to this place. Her companion on this mission, Varian Kurtmar, came into the control room of the little freighter and stared pensively out the window towards the planet.

"Do you really think this is the place?" Austrina couldn't help but wonder. "After all, there was the child on Commenor that turned out to not have _any_ Force talent…maybe we need to go back to Coruscant and get a new scanner."

Varian glanced at her and smiled. "Don't worry…I have a gut feeling about this. There's something about Alderaan…"

"Well, if you're really sure about this…" Austrina's voice trailed off.

"I believe the Force is with us here, Austrina. Here is where we will find the child…it has to be."

The _Sapphire Breeze_ docked in one of the main bays in Duril, a main city of Alderaan. The two Jedi exited it and, upon leaving the bay and paying the docking fees, were greeted by an imperious-looking Alderaanian government official, who looked delighted to see them.

"Ah, it's our Jedi guests! Welcome to Alderaan, my friends! I have taken the liberty of preparing a speeder to take us to his Majesty's estate. It should only be a short ride."

The Jedi bowed cordially to him and followed him to a speeder that was clearly designated for royalty by its plush interior and new paint. Austrina couldn't help but smile at the curious crowd, which was eager to gawk at the rarely seen Jedi. One woman even held up her infant child towards Austrina, so the Jedi obligingly kissed it, and then hurried to climb into the speeder at Varian's disapproving glance.

"Ah, the Jedi have arrived!" A jolly, slightly plump man approached them in the throne room of the palace, looking immensely pleased.

"My Lord Sabre…" Varian bowed before the man, and Austrina followed suit. He stood up and looked inquiringly at the king. "I am Jedi Varian Kurtmar, and this is my mission companion, Austrina. We have come by the decree of the Jedi Council to look for Force-talented individuals among your people. Might we have your blessing toward our task?"

"Of course, Jedi! But I ask that you might look in our nurseries, first. The royal family would be so pleased if one of our own was to become one of the esteemed Jedi!"

He led them down a side hall and through several corridors before arriving at a set of double doors. The trio walked through them into a spacious area inhabited by a few adults and many children. The adults looked up to notice the king and the Jedi's entrance and hastily bowed.

"Here we have almost the entire royal family's children. I'm sure you will find them polite and well behaved. Perhaps there is one among them that possesses the ability to use the Force?"

Varian surveyed the room and its inhabitants, looking thoughtful. But Austrina's eye was drawn to a nursemaid in the corner, holding an infant. She walked over to the pair and took the baby in her arms. The child had wispy dark brown hair on her head and eyes so dark they were nearly black. As she stared into the infant's eyes, a sudden dizziness came over her and she saw a vision of a young woman, clearly powerful in the Force: fighting a Sith…now meditating…now talking with a council of Jedi, holding their attention. She was clearly a leader. Suddenly the woman looked at her, and Austrina noticed her eyes: they were deep brown, almost black, and held a sparkle, a mystery, a knowledge too far out of Austrina's understanding to ever comprehend. She gasped and came back to the present to find Varian at her side and the nursemaid looking worried.

Varian looked first at the child, then at Austrina. "What's the matter?"

Austrina hugged the baby to her chest and smiled at Varian. "I've found her."

On the way back to the academy on Dantooine, Austrina held the sleeping infant in her arms, softy saying her name to herself. "Eliatra Sabre…Eliatra…Eliatra…" Varian glanced at her. "What drew you to her so strongly, Trina?" Austrina looked up at him, a soft smile on her lips. "I don't know, really…I was just…drawn to her, I guess, and when I looked in her eyes…I saw a vision, Varian! I think it was the future…she will be strong in the Force. Very strong…"

Varian gazed ahead into the blackness of space. "We can only hope she will be more patient with us then that scoundrel Revan is!"

Austrina laughed, but softly so as not to wake the child. "Revan will learn…you must be patient, too, Varian!"

* * *

"…There is no death, there is only the Force." Recited Eliatra to Master Zhar. 

"Very good, young one!" the Twi'lek congratulated her on her word-perfect recitation of the Jedi Code. She showed great promise; already she was able to recite the Code, she knew many of the ways of the Jedi by heart, and she exhibited a natural gracefulness that showed she would excel with a sabre. Only 5 years had passed since the _Sapphire Breeze_ had carried the little girl home to the academy on Dantooine, but her knowledge increased by leaps and bounds, and she tended to be the Masters' favorite.

Zhar dismissed the 6 year old out to play with her friends, and she bowed properly to him before happily skipping out to play with the other children.

"Hey, Eli's done! C'mon, Eli, come play hopscotch with us!" The other children greeted her merrily when she appeared and she eagerly accepted their offer to play.

"Zhar, you're needed out in the docking bay," Zhar's wrist comm beeped at him, and he hurried out to the bay. An unfamiliar lightweight freighter, the _Nightwhisper_, was docked there and a tearful young couple with a little girl between them was talking with Master F'Ladgen.

"She's only four years old!" the woman was saying. "We didn't know they could use the Force that early!"

"Are you quite sure she can use the Force, Mrs. Koria?" F'Ladgen inquired.

"Of course we're sure!" retorted the man. "We're her parents, after all! She's been throwing boxes and things across the room without even touching them when she has temper tantrums, and sometimes when she's asleep, she'll just start floating!"

F'Ladgen turned to the newly arrived Zhar expectantly. "Do you have a scanner with you?"

Zhar was relieved that a scanner was all that was needed. Last time an emergency call had come in, there had been eight wounded Republic soldiers and only three free Jedi to care for them.

Zhar went to the storeroom to get a scanner and returned to find the little girl sorrowfully telling her parents good-bye.

"You _will _take care of her, won't you?" asked the woman anxiously.

"Of course we will," F'Ladgen reassured. "Ah, Zhar, the scanner." He stood back while Zhar activated the scanner and began to wave it in front of the girl. "What's your name, little one?" Zhar inquired kindly.

"Trisana…" said the girl, and she sniffed. Just then the scanner started beeping, and Zhar turned it off.

"There, you see?" said F'Ladgen. "Now we know for certain that she is Force-talented. Trisana will be in good hands, here." Of course the Jedi Master had known all along that the girl was a Force adept; the scanner was simply so that her parents would be comfortable and have no doubts about leaving her at the academy.

"Good bye, mummy!" sobbed Trisana. Her parents waved back tearfully as they boarded the _Nightwhisper. _Austrina, who had just come into the docking bay as Trisana's parents left, held Trisana close as the little girl stared longingly after the rapidly dwindling ship. They watched until the _Nightwhisper_ disappeared completely, then Austrina took Trisana's hand and led her into the academy.

Later that evening, Austrina held the sleeping Tris in her arms while she consulted the boarding charts. "Hmm… I could put her with Kayli, and move Senna to Eliatra's room… but Kayli is so old… wait! I think… Yes, Eliatra would be a good roommate for you, wouldn't she?" She smiled at the sleeping child. "After all, she's only a year older than you. Yes, that will work nicely."

Over the next few weeks, the two girls became fast friends. Eliatra was eager to show Tris around the academy, and Tris was very admiring of Eli's abilities. So it was that the two became inseparable, and the Masters didn't mind because it kept both of them out of trouble...

* * *

"Eli! Quit fidgeting!" Master Austrina reprimanded her charge as she worked to braid the young girl's long brown-gold hair. Eliatra sighed and sat still. Trisana poked her head in the doorway and spotted Eli, and then grinned in anticipation. Austrina finished the braid and handed Eliatra her tunic. Eli grabbed it, bowed hastily to her Master, and hurried off down the hall with Tris. 

Two hours later the two Jedi apprentices emerged from their saber training, tired but happy, out onto the front courtyard where a few other students rested. They had started to head over to their favorite alcove when Tris stopped and pointed across the courtyard.

"Look! Who's that?"

Eli directed her attention to where a small group of Jedi was standing and talking. This would not be out of the ordinary, except for the fact that Eliatra didn't recognize two of them, which were speaking animatedly…and there was a boy with them that looked close to Eli and Tris's age. He was leaning idly against the wall and looking around the courtyard. Long black hair flopped over his mischievously sparkling blue eyes. Eli stared until Tris tugged on her sleeve, disturbing her reverie. "D'you think he's one of their padawans?" Tris asked thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure…" replied Eli. "They seem to be arguing about something. He looks bored, though."

"Well, let's go talk to him, then!" suggested Tris.

The boy looked up as the two apprentices approached him.

"Hey!" Tris greeted him cheerfully. "Are you here on business with your Master?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I think I'm being transferred." He grinned suddenly. "I think they got tired of me."

Eli grinned, and ventured a question. "What's your name?" She suddenly remembered her manners, and blushed a little. "Oh, I'm Eliatra Sabre, and this is Trisana Koria."

"I'm Orion Rivalen," the boy replied, and was about to say something else when one of the Jedi turned to him.

"Orion. We're going to…" He trailed off and his hand went to his belt. His expression smoothed when his hand brushed his saber hilt. Orion smiled innocently. The Jedi shook his head slightly. "As I was saying…we've decided that the Jedi Academy here would be better suited to your…needs then the one back in Tahkery. You'll be staying here now. Master Jendar and I will be returning to Tahkery."

"Alright, Master." Orion bowed to him, then grinned. "Shall I come visit you sometime?"

Jendar cleared his throat suddenly. "Err, no, that's alright…and Orion, _do_ behave, won't you?"

Orion smiled blandly. "I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise, Master Jendar." Eliatra suppressed a giggle as she noticed the furtive sparkle in his eyes that spoke differently then his words.

The two Jedi bowed to Master Zhar and the other Jedi they had been speaking to, and walked swiftly toward the Academy's gate. Master Zhar brushed his hands together brusquely and turned to Orion.

"Well, let's see about getting you settled and set up for classes." He headed off toward the entrance to the Academy. Orion started to follow, then paused and turned back to Eli and Tris.

"I'll see you later, girls." He winked at them and then hurried after the Master. Eliatra watched him go, then realized the time. The new boy was still on her mind as she ran with Tris to their next class…

* * *

Barely a month later… 

Eliatra and Trisana had not seen much of Orion since they had met him. He was in a few of their classes, but had not spoken to them much. It was mid-morning now, the time when Eliatra would normally be in class, but she was heading back toward the dorms instead. She had put a large hole in her tunic during that morning's saber practice, and she needed to replace it. As she passed the dorms on either side of the corridor, she noticed a muffled sound coming from one. _Who else could be in the dorms at THIS hour?_ She wondered to herself. Her curiosity overtook her, and she slipped into the room to see who it was. To her surprise, it was not Kayli bent over the durasteel footlocker next to the bed, but someone with a familiar black head of hair…

"Orion?" she asked incredulously.

"_Ooof!_" He lurched forward in surprise, hitting his head on the inside of the footlocker before sitting up hastily. "Err…Eliatra, right?" He smiled a little nervously at her.

"That's right…what are you doing here?" she asked him, more curious than accusatory.

He stood up and looked at her. "Well, you see…I had a chest cough." He thumped his chest vigorously, then suddenly began hacking so violently that Eliatra started forward in concern for him. He stood upright suddenly and said in a completely normal voice, "So I got excused from class to see the healer about it. Always acts up this time of year…Pollen, you know." He smiled brilliantly at her.

She let the unlikely excuse go. "That explains why you're out of class. But why are you in the girls' dorms?" She crossed her arms expectantly.

"We-elll… " He hesitated, then launched into an explanation. "I was going to find all of the fresh tunics in Kayli, Senna, and Silven's rooms and hide them, just to see if I can get away with it. And they're way too confident right now anyway, have you seen how they are? Always going around like they are getting into Knighthood next week. They need something to shake up their day a little. Reminds me of the lightsaber incident…" he added thoughtfully. "That's why I got transferred, you know."

"Because of a prank?" Eliatra's eyes widened.

"Yes, great, isn't it?" He grinned at her. "Anyway, are you going to help me, or not?"

Eliatra thought a moment. She was caught between the temptation of adventure and doing the right thing.

"Let's do it." She grinned.

* * *

Orion sauntered up to the table where Eliatra and Tris were eating breakfast in the dining hall the next morning. He slid into the chair next to Eli, dug into his plate of food, and asked conversationally, "How's breakfast?" 

Trisana gaped a little at him, and looked questioningly at Eli for an answer as to why Orion had chosen to sit with them this morning. Eli opened her mouth to reply when there was a distant wail from the direction of the dorms. The entire dining hall quieted as everyone tried to listen. Sure enough, someone yelled again. "_What in space happened to my tunics?" _

Eliatra struggled to keep from breaking out in laughter. Orion was rocking back and forth, laughing silently to himself. Tris looked at both of them as though they were crazy until Eli gasped an explanation. Trisana snorted with laughter.

As the three of them left the dining hall, they started to separate to go to their own classes. Eli stopped and laid a hand on Orion's shoulder.

"Hey, do you think we could meet up later? After classes end this afternoon maybe?"

Orion nodded and grinned at her. "Sure, that'd be great. Later!" He headed off for his class. Eliatra and Tris walked off toward theirs, Eliatra thinking about the prank, and Orion. He was something else, that was for sure. Most of the other apprentices and padawans were quiet and obedient. There was the occasional prank, but nothing quite this reckless. Orion wasn't disobedient, exactly…he just took risks, dancing on the edge of the rules just to show that he could. And yet he had an underlying sense of honor and deep trustworthiness.

Eli smiled to herself as she walked into her class. She had a feeling things wouldn't be boring for some time now.


	2. Padawans

"_Coruscant Holonet Transmission: Urgent Report: 53 standard hours ago, Republic Forces received several distress signals originating from outlying systems. All distress signals come from planets outside of Republic space. The Senate is still conferring on how to deal with the situation…"_

A wide-eyed Eliatra, now in her teens, stared at the speakers in her room as the voice continued its disturbing report.

"What do you s'pose it is?" wondered Trisana as she nervously ran her hand over her long, flaxen braided hair.

"I'm not sure," Eliatra replied. "Something might be attacking planets on the Outer rim…but why?"

Just then the door to their dorm practically flew open, and a tall, dark-haired boy burst in.

"Did you hear that?" he asked excitedly. "Attacks on outlying systems! Do you think we'll get to go?"

"Orion!" Eliatra exclaimed with some consternation. "You know you're not supposed to be in here…and anyway, if the Republic hasn't even decided what to do yet, there's no way we'll be going any time soon. Even if the Jedi do have to go, they almost certainly won't be sending anyone with half-trained padawans."

"I guess you're right." He sighed. "I'm just itching to GO somewhere. It's been too long since we've been out on a mission."

"I know what you mean," Tris sympathized. "Master Varian's kept me grounded here ever since the whole speeder incident on Corellia." She grimaced.

Eli grinned wryly. "That was your own fault, Tris."

"I was just curious! How was I supposed to know it wasn't that spice dealer's speeder? It could've had stashes of illegal spice hidden in a secret compartment!" she said defensively.

Orion smirked. "Yeah, Tris, all spice dealers keep cages full of bubos, and chirpas, and Tatooine sand-lizards in the back seats of their speeders…"

"He could have had an illegal trade going underneath the guise of an innocent pet shop owner, and the animals were just his cover-up," Tris sulked. "It's not my fault they all decided to get loose as soon as I poked my head in!"

"From what I heard, 'poking your head in' wasn't ALL you did." Orion pointed out. "Sounded to me more like you ransacked the thing."

"Alright, alright." Eli laughed, seeing the look of indignant protest on Tris's face. "Let's not get into an argument here. Come on, we need to go practice that new form if we're going to keep up with Senna and her group in class tomorrow."

"Keep up with Senna?" Orion said. "C'mon Eli, you know you're way better then she'll ever be."

She grinned. "Maybe so, but you and Tris could use a little improvement."

"Hey! Well…maybe I _could_ use a little help on my stance." Tris admitted.

Orion grinned at them, then spun on his heel toward the door. "Last one out to the practice grounds is bantha fodder!"

Eli and Tris laughed and sprinted after him through the academy.

* * *

Eliatra woke earlier then usual the next morning, something nagging at the back of her consciousness. Pale early morning light slanted through the window onto her bed, and she closed her eyes again, trying to get back to sleep. It didn't work. Trisana's steady, just-loud-enough-to-be-annoying snore penetrated through Eli's closed eyes. She groaned, rolled over, and stuck the pillow over her head in an attempt to block the noise. Finally she gave up and got out of bed, stretching as she stood on the bare floor of the room. She dressed quickly and began her stretching exercises as she waited for Tris to wake up.

It wasn't long before Eliatra grew tired of waiting. Disregarding what all the masters had always told her –"Have patience!"- she walked over to Tris's bed and shook her friend's shoulder. "Tris! Get up!"

"Unnngh…" Tris groaned and blinked at Eli. "Isn't it a little early?"

"I couldn't sleep." Eli explained.

Tris looked cross. "That doesn't mean you have to keep me from my beauty rest too, Miss Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed…"

"Just get up. C'mon, we can go out walking over the bridge…" Eli pleaded.

Tris sighed and sat up. "Alright…" she grumbled. "But I know it would be time better spent sleeping."

Eli rolled her eyes but said nothing. Tris had never been a morning person; she would be more agreeable once she got outside.

"So what do you think?"

"About what?" Eliatra replied, a little defensively.

Tris ignored the tone in her friend's voice. "Getting off Dantooine. I'm so bored, here."

Early morning dew sparkled on the long grasses outside the Jedi enclave. The air was just cool enough to be comfortable, but the pale sun in the clear blue sky promised a warm day, despite the earliness of the season. Eli scuffed her feet through the grass, unmindful of the dewdrops getting on her clothes. She raised a skeptical eyebrow at Tris's remark.

"I don't think there's anything you can do to get off until Master Varian says you guys are going."

"Yeah…" Tris sighed wistfully. "Hey, maybe I could stow away on the next freighter that comes through! I bet Orion would go with me."

"And I wouldn't?" Eli laughed.

"Of course not. You're the sane one, you know." She grinned playfully, then sighed again.

"You're right…I'll just have to wait until Master Varian takes a mission off-planet."

Eliatra shot her an incredulous look. "You, being patient? I'd have thought we'd need to tie you down to get you to stay."

"It might end up coming to that if I don't get to go on a mission soon." Tris grumped.

"You could be more grateful, you know. At least Master Varian didn't stick you with the youngest apprentices."

"Eeesh," Tris shuddered. "Nursery duty? Force forbid…I think I'd go crazy if I had to spend two minutes trying to take care of the little rugrats."

They came to a stop at the crest of one of Dantooine's short bluffs. Eliatra put her hand to her forehead to shade her eyes as she looked out over the endless waving grasslands and toward the distant valleys. When she turned to say something to Tris, she realized her friend was no longer beside her, and was in fact dropping below Eliatra's lookout to the lower ground beneath them.

Tris looked up when she saw that Eli wasn't following. "C'mon, I haven't been out this far yet. Let's go see if we can find a cave or something!"

Eliatra hesitated. "I'm not sure there's time…we need to get back to the academy for breakfast."

"Please? Come _on_ Eli, you were the one that dragged me out of bed in the first place! We'll get back in plenty of time."

"Well…" Against her better judgment, Eliatra clambered down the incline to join Tris at the bottom. Tris was already off exploring the new area, which proved to be somewhat rockier then the plains surrounding the enclave.

They had only been walking for about ten minutes when Tris disappeared behind a large rock formation. Eliatra hurried to catch up. "Tris? Wait up f-"

She ran up against Tris's outstretched arm. Eliatra glanced at the other padawan's face, which was suddenly paler than usual. Tris's voice was shaky as she spoke. "Eli…please tell me you put on your saber this morning."

"I did. Why?"

Tris only pointed forwards. Eli gasped as her gaze fell on a pack of kath hounds not more than a hundred feet away. There were two horned kath hounds, and at least eight smaller ones. Tris and Eli backed up slowly, hoping not to catch the hounds' attention, but it was already too late. One reddish-orange head snapped up and scented the air, and the beast was on its feet in an instant.

Eliatra hauled Tris behind her and ignited her lightsaber as the first hound got up and began trotting toward them, closely followed by the rest of the pack. They began baying terribly as they charged toward the two girls.

"Tris! RUN!" Eli screamed. Tris raced off in the direction they had come, with Eli hot on her heels. By the time they reached the bottom of the bluff, the first kath hound was almost upon them. Eliatra practically threw Tris up to the top, and then spun to give the hound a taste of her lightsaber. She was suddenly very glad for the extra practice they had taken with their saber forms.

_They're a lot bigger up close then they seemed before,_ she thought to herself as she frantically stabbed forward with her bright blue blade. The kath hound yelped and dropped back as her saber thrust into its chest.

"ELI! Give me your hand!" Tris cried above the noise of the kath hounds. Eliatra swung her lightsaber at another kath hound and succeeded in slicing off its leg, and then hastily jumped for Tris's outstretched hand. She hauled herself to the top of the bluff just as one of the horned kath hounds leapt up, snarling, to snap at her foot. She yanked it out of the way and lay gasping for a minute.

"Are you ok?" Tris asked breathlessly.

"I will be once we get back to the enclave," Eli gasped, and pointed. "Look!"

Already several kath hounds were running along the base of the bluff, looking for a way up. Eliatra and Tris scrambled to their feet and began running as fast as they could toward the enclave.

The two padawans staggered over the drawbridge that led to the east courtyard of the Jedi enclave. Orion, who had just walked out, saw them and hurried over. "What's got into you two?" he asked with some concern as they approached. "I got worried when you didn't come out to meet me before breakfast in the North courtyard."

Eliatra and Tris glanced at each other and suddenly burst out laughing breathlessly, leaning on each other for support.

"Well," Eli started, "You could say we went out for a walk…"

"And we went a little further then we usually go…"

"And we met up with some company."

Orion looked between them both skeptically. "You mean…"

"Very large company." Tris asserted.

"With big teeth and even bigger appetites." Eliatra finished, giggling slightly at the look on Orion's face.

"_Kath hounds?_" He exclaimed. "What in space were you doing out that far? I thought there weren't any for at least a couple of miles!"

"Well, we found some." Eli shrugged.

Orion sighed. "Well, next time, invite me along, ok?" He grinned at them, then grabbed their arms and started for the academy. "We need to get to breakfast before people start asking questions. You girls are lucky you got back in time…"

"I don't believe in luck," Eliatra smiled. "Just the Force."

* * *

Eliatra suppressed a slight yawn and the urge to fall asleep in the warm midday sunlight. She and Master Austrina were out on Khoonda plain near the academy, working on fighting forms. This particular one was supposed to be particularly good against opponents armed with ranged weapons such as blasters, but the small training droid Austrina had brought out did not seem to be working. Eliatra drowsily watched the older woman frown as she tweaked the parts inside the droid, a long reddish-brown strand of hair falling over her eyes.

"Do you want me to go back and grab a new droid?" Eliatra offered, as her master's brow furrowed.

"No, I think I've just… Blasters!" She exclaimed suddenly. Something burst off the droid and a shower of sparks flickered from the inside. An acrid smell accompanied a small plume of smoke. Austrina scowled. "Well, I never was that good at repair…" she said rather ruefully.

A high-pitched beeping from her belt interrupted her. Eliatra watched curiously as Austrina pulled the comm link off her belt and switched it on.

"Jedi Austrina, this is Master F'Ladgen. Your presence is requested in the council room now."

"Very well. I will be there shortly." Austrina replaced the comm link and glanced at Eliatra apologetically as they began walking back toward the academy. "Sorry we didn't get any training done, Eli."

Eliatra shrugged. "It's alright, there'll be time later. Do you want me to stay and work on my other fighting forms while you're at your meeting?"

Austrina was thoughtfully quiet for a moment. "Actually, I think you should come along. It might not be anything special, but you need to start attending these things. You'll be dealing with the Council quite a bit as you become a Jedi."

"Very well." Eliatra kept her tone calm, but she couldn't help wondering about the meeting. Perhaps something would happen at last…

Orion glanced up at the doorway of the Council chamber as Master Austrina and Eliatra walked in. He raised a curious eyebrow at Eli, who looked as surprised to see him there as he was to see her.

"_What's going on?_" she mouthed at him from behind Austrina, who was bowing to the few Jedi already assembled there. Eli hastily followed suit.

Orion shrugged and stood a little straighter as Master Khvee glanced back at him sharply.

"Pay attention, now!" the Nautolan master muttered. Orion nodded and looked bland until the Jedi turned back, and then looked over at Eliatra questioningly. She shrugged to show that she didn't know anything, and stood to attention as Master F'ladgen cleared his throat.

"Zhar, where is Master Varian?" asked the elder Jedi.

"Right here." The tall Jedi master strode into the room and took his place on the right of the other Jedi already assembled, trailed by Trisana. She took in her two friends and their masters and her eyes widened. Eliatra shrugged at her and looked back at F'ladgen.

"Good, good, you're all here. A situation has arisen on Coruscant, and I need you three to go," F'ladgen announced, looking at the three older Jedi. Trisana struggled to hide her excitement as F'ladgen continued. "As you all must know, there have been unknown attacks on the Outer Rim, just outside of Republic space. The Senate has gathered on Coruscant to debate what to do, and Jedi representatives from the main temple on each planet are requested to attend. I have chosen the three of you to go, along with your padawans."

"When are we to depart?" Austrina asked.

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow morning should be early enough." Answered F'ladgen.

The Jedi stayed to get the rest of the details about the trip, and then were dismissed from the Council chamber. Orion, Eliatra and Tris dropped back to talk to each other on the way out.

"Coruscant! We're going to _Coruscant!" _Tris exclaimed.

"It's just a big debate though…sounds pretty boring to me." Said Orion.

Eliatra grinned. "With us there, 'boring' will be the last thing you would use to describe it!"


	3. Coruscant

"Hey, pretty nice place." Orion dropped his bags on the floor and looked around the spacious Coruscanti apartment.

Eliatra couldn't help staring a little as well. The place was modest for an apartment in the vast city-planet of Coruscant, but still more richly decorated than the simple Jedi temple back on Dantooine. Huge windows made up the far wall and looked over the cityscape; right now the sun was setting, bathing the apartment in a brilliant fiery glow. Lines of traffic zipped past outside, and distant flashing signs proclaimed cantinas and other entertainment centers.

Inside the apartment, a few chairs, a couch, and a low table furnished the room, and a few hangings and pictures decorated the walls. There were doorways on either side of this room that led off to separate chambers.

Tris deposited her bags on the floor near Orion's and flopped into one of the chairs.

"This is the life!" she said, grinning and stretching out.

"Better enjoy it while it lasts," said Austrina as she walked in through the doorway with the other older Jedi behind the padawans. "We're getting up first thing in the morning to attend the Senate debate."

"Aw, and I was hoping to hit the cantinas here, too!" Orion protested, but his eyes twinkled.

Eliatra punched him in the arm. "You'd be upsetting things before you even took one step in there, 'Rion."

Orion gave her a hurt look. "How do you know? Maybe I'd be silent and undetected, sneaking through the shadows and sliding up to the bar without being noticed by even the wariest Gran…"

Master Khvee, who had just re-entered the room after putting his bags away, snorted. "I think we're going to have to work on your stealth skills before you get quite that good, young padawan. Even if you did get past the bouncers at the door, you'd probably bump into a testy Gamorrean and forever smudge the Jedi's reputation." The Nautolan's words were stern, but the twinkle in his large black eyes belied the teasing in his admonishment.

Master Varian stretched and crossed his arms. "Well, this is all very good, but it's getting late. We should get a bite to eat and prepare for tomorrow. It's going to be a long day."

Austrina nodded in agreement. "I'll see about getting some food ordered up here."

She walked out of the room to find the comm unit. Varian and Khvee retired to the next room over to talk, leaving the padawans in the central room. Eliatra took a seat on one of the chairs, musing idly on the days ahead of them.

"How long do you think we'll be here?" asked Tris.

Eliatra shrugged. "Until the Senate gets this thing resolved, or the Jedi see fit to leave."

"It could be a long time, then…" Orion groaned. "A very long time."

* * *

Eliatra moaned and collapsed onto her bed in the Jedi's apartment. It was the second day after their arrival, and so far the hours had dragged by even more boringly than when the apprentices had been attending Master Zhar's meditation classes. For the first half of the first day, even Orion had been interested by the debate, but after that they began to realize that, for the most part, it was a lot of arguing about one topic: the mysterious attacks on the Outer Rim, and what to do about it. Debate surged endlessly, usually repeating already thoroughly chewed-over points, and seemingly holding a lot of interest for everyone but the padawans.

"Maybe this is what Zhar meant when he said 'Have patience, child—you'll need it!' " Said Orion wryly as he entered the room.

"If this is what being a Jedi is all about, then I quit!" complained Tris. "Even the saber fighting doesn't make up for standing around and arguing all day."

"C'mon, guys," Eliatra consoled. "It's not that bad. We're not going to be stuck here forever… and you never know, maybe they'll take a day off and we can go explore the city."

Tris snorted. "Yeah, right!" But Orion was beginning to get a crafty look that Eliatra knew all too well.

"Oh, no you don't…" she warned. "Not here! Orion, it's _dangerous_ out there. We can't-"

"And why can't we?" he challenged. "We have our lightsabers, and we know how to use them. Surely there can't be anything worse than a few granite slugs or maybe some swoop gangs."

"Yeah," agreed Tris, warming to the idea. "How bad can it be, Eli? Besides, it'd be fun to go exploring a little on our own. Orion's right, we can protect ourselves."

Eliatra sighed. Why was it that she was the one who always had to be persuaded along to these kinds of things? "You know our masters won't approve of this," she said, crossing her arms.

Orion grinned, noticing her weakening. "C'mon, Eli. It'll be alright. What could go wrong?"

Eliatra sighed again and shook her head. "How are we going to get out without the other Jedi noticing?"

Orion grinned broadly and winked. "You just leave that to me."

* * *

The Jedi ate a quiet breakfast the next morning, the masters discussing the finer points of the debate while the padawans maintained straight faces so as not to alert the elders of their plan. Austrina seemed to suspect something though, and pulled Eliatra aside as they were leaving the apartment for the turbolift.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly.

Eliatra hesitated. Should she lie to her master, or betray her friends?

"What makes you think something's the matter?" she asked, stalling for time.

Austrina eyed her a moment. "You all were quiet at breakfast. Usually you're talking about something or other."

"I…I guess we're just tired from the debate…" Eliatra managed. "Do you know how much longer we'll be here?"

They started walking toward the turbolift again to catch up with the others. Austrina seemed relieved at Eliatra's answer. Eli squashed down the momentary pang of guilt.

"I don't know," Austrina mused. "The attacks have, so far, not been quite in Republic space, so the Senate is divided on what to do about it."

As they reached the turbolift and rejoined the others, Orion shot Eli an alarmed look. She shook her head slightly and winked at him when the other Jedi weren't looking. His shoulders sagged in relief as he turned back to Khvee to ask a question.

The debate was just warming up again as the Jedi entered the vast discussion chamber. Eliatra had stared in awe at the endless rows of pods that housed representatives from each of the thousands of systems within the Republic the first day they had arrived, but now she simply took her seat in her and Austrina's pod. Varian and Tris, and Khvee and Orion each had their own pod as well.

She paid little attention to the debate as the morning wore on, instead keeping a discreet eye on Orion. It would be no mean task to leave undetected, but Orion had seemed confident in the plan he had devised. He always seemed confident, Eli thought. It might make him a good leader some day, if he didn't get himself killed first.

There was a flicker of movement in the pod next to hers. Orion tapped Khvee on the shoulder and muttered something; the Nautolan nodded distractedly. Orion turned and left through the door behind their pod. Eliatra leaned back and waited for a tense five minutes, then stood and reached up to whisper in Austrina's ear. "I'm going to go stretch my legs for a minute."

Austrina glanced at her and murmured assent, then turned back to the debate. Feeling slightly dizzy at the thrill of accomplishment, Eliatra turned and opened the door behind their own pod, and slipped out into the dimly lit hallway beyond. She stifled a scream as Orion tapped her on the shoulder.

"How did it go?" he whispered.

"Fine," she answered. "Master Austrina didn't mind me leaving."

Orion grinned. "Good. Now we wait for Tris."

With that, he turned and walked back to the door behind Khvee's pod, opened it, and went through back to the pod again. Eliatra leaned against the opposite wall and waited anxiously. Orion's return to the discussion chamber was to keep Master Khvee from becoming suspicious; being Orion's master, he knew the padawan's love for practical jokes better than most, and kept a closer eye on him than most Jedi would out of habit. After Tris left her pod, Orion would "remember" that he had left his cloak outside, and would return to get it, meeting up with Tris and Eli. The three padawans intended to return later that afternoon, and would claim that they had gotten distracted and lost track of time if questioned.

Eliatra sighed with relief as Tris and Varian's door opened, and a slim blonde figure slipped through. A minute later, Orion walked through his doorway and grinned at the girls.

"Ready?" he whispered.

Eliatra settled her cloak about her shoulders and nodded. Trisana beamed at Orion and whispered back, "When you are!"

The three padawans made their way through the dark hallway that encircled the discussion chamber. Doors to each of the pods on this level lined the right wall, and dim lights were stationed at intervals along the left. Finally they reached the turbolifts and silently walked into one.

"We made it!" crowed Tris gleefully once the doors shut and the lift began its smooth descent to the lower levels. "Blasters, I'm glad to be out of there."

Orion nodded agreement and glanced at Eliatra, who was being quiet. "What's the matter, Eli?"

Eliatra started to speak, then shook her head. The guilty feeling she had felt earlier that morning while talking to Austrina had made itself known again. Why hadn't she convinced them to just stay with the other Jedi and bear their boredom? Orion's words came back to her though. _"C'mon, Eli. It'll be alright. What could go wrong?" _What _could_ go wrong?

_Plenty,_ said a voice in her mind, but she ignored it.

"It's nothing," she said.

"If you say so." He shrugged.

Finally the lift slowed and stopped. Eliatra, Orion, and Tris stepped out into the bustling center of the Senate housing complex and looked around. Humans and aliens alike, most of them dressed in fancy robes or uniforms that indicated their high political status, swarmed around them. Talk buzzed dense and deafening overhead, echoing off of the high ceilings and smooth pillars of the place. The enormous discussion chamber, from outside simply looking like a vast cylinder, loomed behind them.

Orion tapped Eliatra on her shoulder, startling her out of her awe at the Senatorial complex. "Come on, let's head this way," he said, raising his voice to be heard over the din.

She nodded and walked after him, pushing her way through the crowd and fixing her eyes on his back so as not to lose sight of him. Tris followed close behind, and after a few minutes they were out of the building and out onto the main streets of this sector. Coruscant glittered even in daylight. Eliatra found it hard to tear her eyes from the towers that stretched limitlessly around her. Everything was so busy compared to the quietude of rural Dantooine!

"Okay," said Orion once they were outside into a slightly less crowded area. "Now what?"

Eliatra raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't look at me…you guys were the ones that talked me into this."

Orion sighed. "All right then, what do _you_ think we should do…Tris?"

Eliatra turned to look behind her. Trisana was nowhere in sight. She glanced back at Orion. "She was right behind me!"

"Not anymore…" Orion pushed past her and stood on tiptoe to peer over the crowd.

Eliatra's attention was drawn in another direction, however, as there was a familiar, faint snap-hiss from around a corner. "Orion! This way!"

She took off at a dead run, shouldering her way past disgruntled sentients making their way down the thoroughfare. She rounded the corner and turned down into a dark alley. She dodged past several grimy and decaying crates, and froze to see a towering Wookiee snarl and unsheathe a glittering vibroblade, then swing it powerfully at Trisana. The padawan blocked the blow and tried to attack him, but the opponent was too much for her: he brought his vibroblade up to block the attack and, in the same movement, flipped the saber hilt out of Trisana's hands. Trisana glanced at it, looking genuinely scared, then looked back at the Wookiee advancing on her. She raised her hands in an effort to freeze the Wookiee in a stasis with the Force, but a darkly clad man stepped out of the shadows. His cold eyes narrowed and an arc of lightning stretched from his hand to Trisana's body. She screamed for a moment before collapsing on the ground.

"Tris!" Eliatra screamed, and stepped forward, Orion just behind her. The Dark Jedi who had attacked Trisana looked up in surprise. Eliatra ignited her sabers and surged forward.

"Eli, wait! He's-" Orion tried to warn, but found himself promptly being choked by the Dark Jedi. Eliatra did as well, and gasped powerlessly for air as the Wookiee hefted Trisana over his shoulder. The Dark Jedi dropped Eliatra and Orion to the pavement and walked swiftly after the Wookiee. Tris raised her head weakly and tried to yell to Eliatra.

"Eli! It's an assass-" Her words were cut off as the Wookiee cuffed her over the head, and she fell limp. The three soon vanished into the shadows.

Eliatra sat up and stared helplessly after her friend. They had only meant to escape from the dreariness of the debate, but now things had gone terribly wrong somehow. She shuddered as she recalled the Force choke; the dark Jedi could very easily have killed her right then and there.

Orion got up grimly and picked up Tris's saber, and gave Eliatra a hand up.

"Come on, we have to help her, before it's too late." He said. Eliatra nodded agreement. They had gotten into this; now they would get out of it. Or so she hoped. It might be too late if they went back to get the other Jedi for help; they would have a better chance of saving Trisana if they went after her now. Eliatra did not want to think what happen if they did not get there fast enough. Orion hurried off in the direction Trisana's captors had gone, Eli close behind him. Their training back in the Academy had prepared them for situations such as this, but they had never had this sense of urgency. No training course could replicate the life that hung in the balance between success and failure…

* * *

Austrina leaned back in her seat in the debate-chamber pod with a sigh of relief. The debate finally seemed to be coming to a conclusion with this latest announcement.

"Well, Eli, that's almost all…it won't be too much longer now."

She turned to her padawan with a smile, which quickly vanished as she realized Eliatra's absence. Worried, she looked over at Varian's pod, and then Khvee's. Her fears were realized: None of the padawans were present, and probably hadn't been for the past half hour or so.

"Ah, sithspit…" she muttered. Reaching out briefly through the Force, she tried to sense their presence to no avail. Coruscant's population was simply too enormous, its ever-streaming life covering any trail of another Jedi. "Varian!" she hissed.

He glanced away from the current speaker and raised a curious eyebrow at her. She glanced back at the empty pod behind her and back to Varian. His eyes went first to her empty pod, then to his. He nodded slightly and moved to the door behind the pod. Austrina went out as well, and Khvee quickly joined them in the hallway outside.

"Can you sense them at all?" Austrina asked worriedly.

Khvee shook his head, his large eyes narrowed in worry. "No…Coruscant is too large. There is no way we could find them just by reaching through the Force."

"Don't worry too much, Trina…" said Varian. "I'm sure they just left to go look around this sector a bit. They must have been bored to tears by the debate."

"Keep in mind, however, that Orion is with them…anything could happen. I wouldn't put it past him to stumble into a nest of Hssiss on Alderaan." Khvee commented.

"So what do we do? We can't exactly go charging off in the middle of the debate to rescue our padawans," said Austrina.

"No. I think they will be alright until we're done…they'll probably be back by tonight anyway. If not, we'll head out to look for them. They're well advanced for their ages, Trina. They can handle anything that could be out there. Now come on, let's go back in."

Austrina nodded and moved back toward her door. She paused just before she went back in and tried to reach through the Force again. For a moment, only a flitting breath of a second, she thought she felt something beneath the teeming Coruscanti life…a shadow, a darkness, an evil…but then it was gone. Shaking her head and trying to shrug off the sudden uneasiness that crept across her mind, she resumed her position in the chamber and tried to focus on the debate. Somehow, somewhere, she knew the padawans were in danger…


	4. Grand Theft Auto

To the readers: Thank you all for waiting so patiently for this chapter! I would have gotten it up sooner but for a combination of starting college (busyness x.x), and writer's block. However, I seem to have gotten the ball rolling and will try to get the next chapter up soon. Enjoy! Eli

Tara Saralonde: Thanks! Fans are always appreciated!

Brylan Truson: Thanks, Bry:-)

* * *

Eliatra and Orion followed the kidnapper's path down a series of alleyways until they emerged onto a huge, bright concourse. People thronged the street, moving in and out of the doorways on either side of the avenue. The crowd pressed close and heavy, making it impossible to see through or know which way Trisana had been taken. The two padawans retreated to a wall nearby to plan their next course of action.

"Now what?" Eliatra stared out at the crowd, intimidated by its sheer size.

Orion raked his hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't know. There's just no way…for all we know, they've taken her off planet."

"No… she's still here. We have a Force bond, remember? I can sense, to a certain extent, where she is…and it seems that she's still on Coruscant. And alive, thankfully." She scanned the multitude of aliens and people thoughtfully. "If you were a dark Jedi, where would you hide…" she murmured.

Orion glanced at her. "Somewhere dark and out of the way. That doesn't help us though, seeing as how that describes quite a lot of Coruscant. We have to go off of what we know to figure this out. What information do we have, though?"

"Well…" Eliatra thought a moment before meeting Orion's bright blue gaze. "As they were taking her away, Tris yelled something that sounded like 'assassin'. That could mean that they're after someone in the debate, which makes me think they're going to be staying somewhere relatively close to this sector."

"But _where?" _

"I…" Eli bit her lip and gazed out at the crowd, then suddenly frowned. "I smell exhaust."

"Big deal. We're on Coruscant, not the middle of Dantooine, remember?"

"No, it's strong. Smell it? Like an old speeder came through just a few minutes ago…" She coughed a little at the sharp stench.

"Like an old speeder with engine problems…" Orion mused. He scanned the crowd and spotted a man dressed in a nobleman's finery scowling and inspecting the banged-up side of an expensive looking speeder. "Let's ask him."

Before Eli could react, he strode across the plaza toward the man, pulling his datapad out of his tunic as he went. "Excuse me, sir? You called about the speeder hit-and-run?" he asked politely as he approached.

The man looked up, some of the wrinkles going out of his forehead. "Finally." He sighed in relief, but paused to look the lanky youth up and down. "Er, bit young to be security guards, aren't you?"

Orion shrugged apologetically. "You know the Republic drafting services these days. They'll take anyone who can wield a blaster without shooting himself in the process…experience before age, as my old dad used to say."

"True, true…" the man chuckled as Eliatra looked on in slight amazement, stunned that he was actually believing Orion's tale. "Well, about my speeder. I was just coming out of the Senate licensing offices, there, when this flying hunk of junk came outta nowhere, careening all the while, and drove straight into the side of my baby." He scowled and patted the dented rear of the speeder. "And then he took off, straight out that way, didn't even bother to slow down."

"Off that way? Did you see who was driving?" Orion asked boredly, tapping things into his datapad.

"Nah…he was going too fast. All I saw was some big furry beast in the passenger's side. Coulda been one of those…what d'you call them? Wookens. From that forest planet. I hear they make great guards. Listen, do you think you can catch him? He'd better pay for what he did to my speeder, do you have any idea how much I paid for this? Cost me an arm and a leg, it did."

"Does your speeder still work?" Orion gave the vehicle in question a glance as he passed his datapad inconspicuously to Eli. She took it and looked over the display.

_Be ready to move fast._

Oh, great… she sighed and stuffed the datapad into her pocket. This could be interesting.

"I guess…he only dented up the body, I think… the engine seems to be intact."

"Good. Let me see the ignition key, I'll check that out for you. I grew up in my dad's swoop garage. I can tell what shape an engine's in the second I start it." He gave the nobleman a reassuring grin and held out his hand. Eliatra could almost feel the Force persuasion leaking out of his tone of voice.

"Well… if you say so." He handed over the key, and Orion strolled around to the side and jumped in. He inserted the key and started up the speeder. It rattled, then turned to a smooth purr.

"Yep, looks great!" Orion exclaimed, and glanced for only a second at Eli. "Now if you don't mind, I'll just test it out…"

Surprised at herself, but unable to see another course of action, Eliatra took a running jump and leapt agilely into the passenger's seat of the speeder. The owner's look changed from one of placid compliance to realization. "Hey!"

Orion was already gunning the speeder down the street, sending people on either side dodging for cover as the man chased futiley after them. Eliatra turned in her seat to check how close he was, and then screamed as the speeder plunged over a railing and out into open air. She grabbed the edge of the speeder and stared at Orion, who was grinning almost maniacally as he drove, his shaggy hair whipped back by the wind.

"What do you think you're _doing?_" she yelled over the sound of speeder engine and snapping breeze.

"Correction, what _we're _doing," he responded. "Saving Tris, remember? Force, Eli, pay attention once in a while." He grinned teasingly at her.

"_Don't hit that building!"_ she screamed. Orion jerked the speeder out of the way just in time, nearly hitting a larger transport shuttle in the process, and narrowly ducking beneath the shuttle to escape it. "And we weren't supposed to save her illegally! We're Jedi! We can't go around just… just stealing people's stuff!"

"Eli. Now is not the time to have a crisis about what's right or not. You have to take it in context, remember? Just like Master Khvee says!"

"That was about the wars!"

"Yeah, well…" He shrugged and glanced around. "You know, these things aren't too hard to drive, considering I've never driven one before." He steered the speeder with nonchalant ease above a cargo shuttle at the last possible moment. The shuttle's driver honked angrily at them as they passed, and Orion waved back cheerfully.

Eliatra shook her head ruefully and strained to look ahead of them. "Do you see the assassins' speeder?"

"No. Wait…there it is!" He yanked the speeder in a hard right angle turn, nearly hitting another, larger speeder broadside. He pulled up just in time, diving over it and plunging almost vertically downward. Eliatra saw a puff of black smoke disappear around a corner before Orion dropped past that level, the speeder giving a terrifying whine as it plummeted.

"You missed it!" Eliatra screamed, the wind snatching her words as quickly as she spoke them.

"I know!" Orion yelled back. "I think I broke the brake!"

"You _WHAT?"_

Orion began punching buttons frantically. Buildings sped past them so fast they blurred together. The ground began to loom beneath them. Eliatra shut her eyes and grabbed the speeder door, gritting her teeth for the impact.

At last Orion's hand landed on another control stick. Desperate, he depressed the button on top and yanked back hard on it. The speeder clunked loudly several times, but actually seemed to be slowing down. Eli dared to open her eyes a moment. The speeder groaned excruciatingly and pulled itself into a horizontal position, then raised its nose and began moving in the opposite direction --back up where they had come from.

The speeder surged upward nearly as quickly as they had fallen. The engine was making loud groans and clunks, which sounded to Eliatra suspiciously as though it were about to give out. Suddenly she spotted the level that Tris's captors had gone through. "There it is!" she yelled.

Orion nodded grimly and adjusted several controls. The speeder rattled ominously but managed to haul itself over the edge of the terrace. They emerged onto a dark, dirty undercity level of Coruscant, clearly less well-to-do than the Senate sector. Eliatra looked around as Orion fiddled with the speeder controls. Their quarry was nowhere in sight, but the smell of exhaust still hung in the air. They seemed to be in a narrow alleyway. Buildings stretched up on either side of them, and far overhead was not the sky, but a series of catwalks and occasionally a duracrete ceiling. Trash lined the street below them, the lighter pieces tumbling away from the speeder's draft.

The speeder's engine began to putter slower and their speed decreased. Eliatra glanced over at Orion as he scowled and flicked several switches and then pushed forward on a control stick. The speeder gave one loud clunk, jumped forward, and then the engine cut out altogether. They fell to the ground in a jolt, the silence suddenly deafening around them.

"Well, I guess this is where we get off," Orion said cheerfully, and jumped out. Eliatra followed suit and looked around.

"I still can't believe you did that," she muttered.

"Well, it got us this far, didn't it?" he replied defensively. "Now come on, we need to find Tris."

They headed down the alleyway at a brisk walk, their senses on high alert. "Where do you suppose they've gone?" Eliatra asked quietly.

"I think-" His answer was cut off as a dark figure stepped out of the shadows ahead of them.

"Looking for something?" it rasped. It was taller than even Orion and clothed in a long, dark robe, its face concealed by a drooping hood. One bony hand held the cloak closed at the neck.

"No, thank you," Eliatra replied icily. She rested her hand on her lightsaber, ready to draw it at a moment's notice. She could feel Orion's tenseness next to her.

Their robed companion noticed her movement. "Easy, child…" he hissed. "I mean you no harm. As long as you do not harm me, that is." He chuckled, then began to cough harshly. He straightened after a moment, drawing breath in ragged gasps.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Orion asked frostily.

"You are after the Wookiee, yes? He has something you want?"

"Perhaps. Why do you care?" he replied warily.

"Let's just say I have had a…falling out with Rraarhar. He is no more my ally than he is yours."

Eliatra crossed her arms. "It seems…convenient that you have crossed paths with us here, after the same person you are, on such an expansive planet as Coruscant."

"You are not the only Force-sensitive here, my dear." He rasped. "I have been awaiting my vengeance for a while now. When I came here from Nar Shaddaa, I could feel his foul presence, however faint…" he paused to cough a few times, then spoke again. "I am no stranger to visions. They are part of my birthright, however grudgingly I accepted them. In a dream two nights ago, I saw him coming through this sector, pursued by two guardians of the light. On a gamble I came to this place, and my guess was right."

"But how do we know you are truly Force sensitive?" Eliatra asked warily.

He reached up and slowly pulled down his hood. It fell away to reveal a horribly disfigured face, so twisted it was barely recognizable as human. Several long, inflamed, deep parallel scars trailed diagonally across his face from forehead to jaw. His nose was only a pair of flared holes in a protruding stub below his eyes, and his right eye was a cybernetic implant, glinting mechanically in the darkness. His mouth was no more than a jagged tear in his face. The top of even more machinery protruded from the neck of his cloak, totally encompassing his throat and part of his chin; metal plates covered patches of his bald skull. He extended his hand toward them.

"How could any but a Force sensitive survive an attack by an enraged Wookiee?" He laughed a little at their stunned silence.

"So what do you say? Shall we hunt the fiend together? Though our motives may be different, I am willing to put aside my differences with Jedi for this one time." His mouth twisted in a terrible grimace.

Eliatra fought to hide her repulsion at his countenance. "What if it's a trap? How do we know we can trust you?" she asked.

"And you still haven't introduced yourself," Orion added.

The man bowed slightly to them. "So rude of me," he rasped. "You may call me…Visiron. As for trust, well, if I was after young innocents, don't you think I would go after those who weren't armed with lightsabers?"

"You have a point," Orion admitted. He glanced at Eliatra. "What do you think? Should we trust him?"

She gave Visiron a measuring look while he waited patiently, his scarred hands folded inside his cloak. "I… I can't think of a better alternative. If he can help us find her, then all the better." She sighed at last.

"Good," Visiron said hoarsely. "I have a good idea of where they have gone." He turned on his heel and started off down the alley, limping slightly but still moving at a brisk pace.

Orion and Eliatra started walking after him. Eli glanced worriedly up at Orion as they went. "'Rion…what if we don't find her? What if we're too late?"

He looked down at her, his azure eyes unexpectedly soft, and put his arm reassuringly around her shoulders. "Don't worry," he said softly. "We'll get through this. All of us."

She looked down and swallowed. "I hope so… Force, I hope so."

The sound of their footsteps echoed into the darkness as they moved further into the depths of Coruscant.


	5. Tales from the Undercity

A/N: Here's chapter five! Be sure to REVIEW, guys! thanks, and enjoy :-)

Adrianna Nemm: Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like it!

Disclaimer: This applies to all the previous chapters, since I'm too lazy to go through and resubmit. I don't own any of the Star Wars stuff you recognize, just Eli, Tris, Orion, Austrina and Varian and the rest...all the snazzy things like lightsabers and Coruscant belong to GL or Lucasarts. Yup yup.

* * *

Austrina paced the floor of the Jedi apartment anxiously, her face set in worry. Varian sat on the small couch with his arms crossed, watching Austrina. Faint neon lights, no longer obscured by the setting sun, shone through the dusk outside into the apartment. Night was falling.

Master Khvee, observing from his chair in the corner, cleared his throat lightly. "You're going to wear a hole in the floor with your pacing, Austrina."

She stopped and sighed, then collapsed onto the couch beside Varian. "I can't help it. I just… they should be back by now!" She stood again and moved to the window, gazing out toward the darkening horizon.

Varian gave her a sympathetic look. He was worried as well, though less obviously than Austrina. He had never been one to express emotions, but the concern for their wayward padawans showed in his eyes as much as it did in Austrina's movements. "Trina… they are three of the most advanced padawans their age I know. Eliatra, especially."

She turned to face him. "That's just the thing. They're padawans, Varian! They've lived on Dantooine their whole life…they don't know who to trust. They're only kids."

Khvee spoke up. "But Orion is resourceful, and Eliatra certainly keeps her wits about her."

Varian nodded. "And Trisana's been with me on trips to Corellia, Taris, and Coruscant. She's no stranger to the city. Calm yourself, Austrina, I'm sure they'll be along shortly." He kept his voice calm and reassuring, hoping that Austrina would stop worrying.

She frowned and pulled her fingers through her long, auburn hair. "Then why do I get the feeling that they're in trouble? Last time I felt like this, I…"

"You what?" Khvee prodded when she faltered.

She leaned back on the wall beside the window, crossing her arms. "The last time I felt like this was twenty years ago… only a day before my Master was killed by a renegade bounty hunter. It was stronger then, but I recognize the feeling. They are in serious danger." She looked back and forth between the two of them, her silver-grey eyes grave.

Khvee's liquid black eyes widened in surprise. "If I am not mistaken, Master Austrina, you have Force sight."

"I know. I have suspected for a while," she said quietly.

"Alright." Varian stood abruptly, brushing his hands together. "If the Force is indicating to you that they're in trouble, then we should get going."

Austrina glanced at the older Jedi, surprised by his sudden acceptance. "Are you sure?"

Khvee nodded his agreement as he stood. "We should go. I had thought they would only be out on a simple outing, but Coruscant is dangerous…if it is so dangerous that you are feeling it through the Force, we should make all haste to find them."

"Good." Austrina walked swiftly to the coat rack and pulled off her cloak. "Let's hurry, if we waste time we may lose them."

"We will lose none of them," Khvee replied softly as they headed out of the apartment.

"May the Force help us, and them…" Varian muttered as he followed.

* * *

Visiron led the padawans on a winding trail through the depths of the sector. Eliatra felt thoroughly lost, and she kept her hand on her lightsaber at all times as they walked. At last they walked through a set of dingy gray doors and into a dark, close corridor. The place stank of decay and filth, and what little light was left in the undercity outside disappeared as the doors closed behind them. Eliatra immediately held out her hand and focused, remembering her Master's lessons from a few months ago. A soft blue glow began to form in her palm and strengthened until it was a brilliant bead of radiance that easily lighted up the room. Visiron turned, his face eerily lit by Eliatra's light, and gave her a surprised look. She met it with a challenging stare. "Lead on."

Visiron muttered something under his breath and turned to limp down the corridor. Eliatra followed him and kept her hand held high, the light she held in it flickering on the walls. Water dripped distantly and the stench began to intensify, writhing around them in sour waves. The hair on the back of Eli's neck inexplicably started to prickle as they rounded a corner and the floor sloped downward, the corridor ahead of them obscured by darkness beyond the light's reach. Eli jumped as Orion softly touched her arm. She glanced at him curiously.

_Do you sense something?_

Her eyes widened a little as she realized he was speaking to her through the Force. She concentrated and replied.

_I do. I feel…nervous. Something's ahead._

_Tris?_

_No. Something bad._

He frowned at her reply and looked forward.

_Be careful, Eli._

_I'm with you, why should I worry?_

He glanced back over at her, startled, and grinned. Suddenly Visiron halted and threw his arm out.

"Bring your light forward, Jedi," he rasped. Eliatra complied and stopped at his side, transfixed at what she saw. Just behind her, Orion drew in a quiet breath.

Before them was a wide stretch of liquid that gleamed acid yellow in the Force illumination. Faint whisps of steam, strange in the coolness of the corridor, wafted upward from its surface while the occasional bubble emerged. Rubble around the pool and deep cracks in the walls hinted at the pool's origin.

"Must have been a sewer line rupture…wasn't there last time I came through." Visiron grumbled to himself.

"That's nice," Orion said sarcastically. "Just what every essential hallway ought to have, a huge puddle of—"

He was cut off as suddenly, without warning, a slick brown tentacle shot through the liquid and toward the group. Visiron stumbled back out of the way, leaving Eliatra closest to the edge. Before she could react, the arm had wrapped around her ankle and tugged hard, sending her wheeling off balance. She extinguished the light in her panic and grabbed for her lightsaber, but Orion was faster: his brilliant blue blade cut through the darkness and found the tentacle. The creature, whatever it was, gave a high-pitched snarl as Orion severed the tentacle and it fell back into the pool with a splash. Eliatra stumbled back from the pool, shaken, and brought up her light again. It showed Orion's worried face watching her.

"Are you okay?" he asked anxiously, taking her arm.

"I am, thanks to you," she smiled shakily and intensified her light, shining it at the pool. "Whatever it is, it's gone back down now."

Visiron cleared his throat, the noise a loud rasp in the echoing tunnel. "If something that big is in the pool, the acid must be fairly deep. We won't be able to simply wade across—"

Orion snorted. "Like we would, after that."

The scarred man shot him a look but continued. "And levitating is out of the question."

Eliatra eyed the pool thoughtfully. "What about a grenade?"

"What?" Orion and Visiron looked at her, surprised.

"We could use a cryoban grenade to freeze the surface and try to walk across."

"Do you have a few we could use?" Visiron asked.

"Do I _look_ like a grenadier?" Eliatra asked sarcastically. "I was rather hoping you would have one."

"I do, but it's my last. I was hoping to save it in case we came across any rancors…" Visiron shrugged. "But we will use it here, if it works. This is the only way through, so we have no alternative route."

"Might as well," Orion said.

Visiron put his hand inside his cloak, pulled out a small, round device, and took a step closer to the pool. Carefully, he drew his hand back and lobbed the grenade into the acid, then took a few steps backward. The grenade hit the surface with a slight _plop_, sank an inch or two, then exploded in a burst of blinding blue-white light. Acid splashed outward, and suddenly Orion grabbed Eliatra and held her so that her face was shielded against his chest, with both of their backs turned to the explosion.

"Hurry! I don't know how much time we have!" Visiron yelled and hurried forward. Eliatra turned to see the surface of the pool covered in a roiling, glowing blue substance, the aftereffect of the grenade. The two padawans ran forward and sprang over the pool as the spongy cryoban slurped underfoot, but held. They made it to the other side, panting, as the cryoban sank into the fluid and began to dissolve. Eliatra held up her light again and suddenly realized that Orion was still holding her hand. She glanced at him and he dropped it, giving her a slightly embarrassed smile. Eli looked back at Visiron.

"Well? Are we going to go?" she asked.

"Yes, let's…" Visiron sighed and started back down the tunnel again.

Their path sloped downward again, fading into darkness just beyond the light. The sound of water dripping and the foul smell receded behind them with the acid pool, but Eliatra could not shake the growing uneasiness that knotted in her stomach. They descended quickly, rounded a corner, and came to another set of doors. Visiron tapped something into the panel on it and frowned.

"It's locked…"

"No problem." Eliatra stepped forward and ignited her azure blade, then plunged it into the door. It sprang open after only a moment, revealing a huge circular room that extended upward and downward, with a narrow grating walkway going around the edge. Water poured down the center in a waterfall-like stream, making the chamber echo with its roar. (A/N: If you've played KotOR, think those areas in the Taris sewers with the rakghouls and Gamorreans and stuff) On the opposite side was a doorway that looked suspiciously like the entrance to a lift. Eliatra glanced at Visiron and stepped through into the chamber.

The grating creaked ominously underfoot, but didn't give way, so she cautiously started walking along it and stuck close to the wall. It creaked again as the other two stepped in and started after her. She was halfway to the lift door when the grating groaned loudly, sagged, and suddenly collapsed beneath her feet.

"ELI!" Orion yelled and sprang forward toward the edge. Eliatra dangled helplessly by her fingertips from the edge of the grating. The collapsed section banged against the wall below them as it fell, and quickly plummeted out of sight in the seemingly endless chamber. She glanced after it and looked back up at Orion.

"Mind giving me a hand up?" she yelled over the roar of the water.

Orion quickly got on his stomach and extended a hand down to Eliatra. Their fingertips brushed, caught, and gained a hold, and Orion hauled Eli back up onto the sturdy section of walkway. She sat up, panting for a moment, then brushed her hair back behind her ears and adjusted her tunic. "That was fun," she commented casually.

Orion gave her a half-exasperated look and helped her to her feet. "Next time, warn me before you decide to go for a swim, alright?" He grinned suddenly. "I wouldn't want to miss out."

"Are you quite done?" Visiron asked from where he was standing nearby. "We need to get to that lift if we are to reach Rraarhar in time."

"How do you propose we get across? The other side's collapsed as well." Eliatra said.

Visiron frowned. "Didn't your masters teach you anything? Just jump across."

"Right…" Eli replied, a little embarrassed that she hadn't thought of it, and started to back up. Orion brushed her arm just as she was about to start running, and she paused. "What?"

"Let me go first," he said quietly. "I don't want it collapsing with you on it, and no one there to pull you up."

Eliatra rolled her eyes, but Orion was already jogging forward lightly. He crouched at the very edge of the grating and leapt the 20-foot distance, landing easily on the other side in a crouch. He stood again and waved at Eli. "It's good! Come on over!" he yelled over the water.

She sprinted forward, drew on the Force, and sprang across, landing neatly on the opposite platform. Visiron followed them a moment later, landing with a gracefulness unexpected for his form. They crossed the remaining distance to the lift door, where Visiron keyed in a code on the doors' panel. They opened smoothly, revealing the inside of a small, dirty lift. Visiron stepped in without hesitation and Eli and Orion followed. The minute she entered, Eliatra felt a cold shiver run down her spine.

"She's been here…Tris has. I can feel it." She said quietly, shaken at the strength of the feeling. It was as though Trisana was standing right next to her.

"Good," Visiron growled. "Means we're on the right track."

The lift shuddered heavily, jerked, and began to descend quickly. Orion laid a gentle hand on her shoulder, and they stood in silence with only the hum of the lift to resonate around them…


	6. Rescue

A/N: Sorry (again) for taking so long to get this up. Lots of stuff going on... when isn't it? Anyway, I think you guys will enjoy this chapter. It was fun to write once I got going on it. XD Be sure to R&R!

-Eli

Disclaimer: Yeah, so, I don't actually own any of the Star Wars stuff... just the characters you've never seen anywhere else but here. And I'm not making any money off of it.

Dante-Raven: This story takes place APPROXIMATELY ten years before Kotor I. However, I'm not superb with timelines, so expect a little bit of flexibility... :-p But thanks, and I'm glad you like it. XD

**Chapter Six: Rescue**

Trisana woke slowly as she gradually became aware of the cold, hard surface beneath her body and the steady pounding in her skull. She blinked dazedly and tried to sit up, then realized her hands were bound tightly behind her back, cramping her arms and shoulders. She scowled and managed to struggle into a sitting position anyway. Glancing around, she took in her surroundings, or what she could make of them. She appeared to be in a cramped force-field cage whose walls flickered eerily in the gloom. Beyond the field was a small, darkened room with a single unsteady light hanging from the ceiling and what looked like two other Force cages. There was also some equipment leaning against the far wall, but there wasn't enough light for her to make out what it was.

Trisana groaned a little and leaned back. The last thing she remembered was the dark, towering Wookiee knocking her roughly over the head. After that, it had all been hazy darkness, until now. She frowned, thinking back on the events that had led her to this position. Back at the Senatorial complex, she had been following her friends when she had seen a flurry of movement from around a corner, accompanied by a dark lingering sensation in the Force. Intrigued, she had slipped away from Eliatra and Orion and followed the movement. It turned out to be a darkly clothed man sliding through the shadows down an alleyway, and she had trailed him for a short distance before pausing as he met a Wookiee in a secluded niche. They had held a heated, whispered –well, on the man's part, anyway– conversation for several minutes, and Trisana had been about to slip away when the man had muttered something loud enough for her to hear.

"…wants her dead by midnight. We have to stop wasting time!"

The Wookiee growled something in reply, and the man's eyes narrowed.

"I don't care _what_ you've got hidden up your fleabitten hide. This mark's worth more credits than the

Chancellor makes in a standard year, and I'm not going to let it go just because of your misgivings."

Stunned, Trisana had moved to hurry away and alert her friends, but the Wookiee saw her. He howled in fury and rushed toward her. Trisana had ignited her lightsaber, and after that, it all went out of control. The next thing she knew, she was captive, and Eli and Orion were being choked by the assassin, or dark Jedi, or whatever he was.

She sighed in frustration and suddenly remembered the steady pounding in her brain. She risked a glance down at herself. Her clothes were rumpled but intact, her limbs were whole, and there was a wide, distressingly brown-red streak on one arm of her tunic. Tris realized suddenly that the pounding in her head must have been coming from the sore spot on her forehead, presumably a gash.

"Great…just great…that'd better not scar…" she muttered. She settled into a crosslegged position and decided that now was as good a time as ever to practice the healing that Master Varian was always going on about. Closing her eyes and clearing her mind, she was just reaching out through the Force when a sharp, metallic sound clanged through the chamber. She glanced up quickly as the sound of a door sliding open sounded and outside light flooded the room. A long, dark shadow stretched across the floor from the doorway, but the field kept her from distinguishing more than the fact that there was someone there.

"So, it's the Jedi whelp, is it?" The voice was rough and masculine, different from that of the man who had helped abduct her, and for some reason sent chills down her spine.

"And what if it is?" Trisana raised her slender chin defiantly.

"Your attitude won't help you where you're going, girl," the man snarled. "The quieter you are, the longer you'll live."

"What do you mean?" For the first time, Trisana began to be scared. Master Varian wasn't here to get her out of trouble, now… in fact, he might not even know she was missing. She had no idea what time of day it was. For all she knew, he was still at the debate.

"I mean that your days as a pampered acolyte are over. You're just lucky you're as pretty as you are, or you probably would've gone straight to the pits." He chuckled darkly.

"What? What pits? And…how do you know I'm a Jedi?" she demanded, her throat going dry. If they had captured Eli or Orion…

"Your lightsaber was a dead giveaway," the man remarked dryly. He stepped into the room and pulled something from his cloak. Silver glinted and flashed suddenly in the darkness, and Tris recognized her familiar saber hilt. It disappeared again as the man tucked it back inside his robe. "And by pits, I mean the rancor pits. My lord Erebin rather fancies the beasts. He keeps a special pen for his favorite, you see. Every so often, when he gets bored or displeased with one of his staff or entertainers, he puts them in the pen. It makes for a fine show."

The young padawan gaped in silence for a moment. This couldn't be happening. It just _couldn't._ Things like this didn't happen to fourteen-year-old padawans! She finally pulled herself together and blurted, "I…I didn't know there were rancors on Coruscant."

"There aren't. Not close by, anyway. No, my dear, where you are going is a special place." He stepped forward, and Trisana thought she could smell his rancid breath. "You are going to an entirely different planet altogether. And if you think you can use your little Jedi tricks to escape, then you had best think again. The guards stationed by your cell will be ordered to kill you should they find anything out of the ordinary." He leered at Trisana. "Have a pleasant stay…" The man turned on his heel and swept out of the cell, the door slamming shut behind him with a deadly sort of finality. The chamber was plunged into semidarkness once more as Trisana blinked, stunned. To be fed to rancors… she shuddered in horror and fear. Reality was looking all too much like some terrible nightmare, but she couldn't wake up from this one.

* * *

Visiron was the first out of the lift when it finally stopped moving and creaked open. He looked around as the padawans followed him out into the dusty, derelict room. It was long, narrow, windowless, slightly claustrophobic, and empty save for a dingy footlocker lying on its side near the right wall. A single dim light glowed despondently from the center of the ceiling, barely illuminating the far corners and the door on the opposite side. Eliatra hugged her arms around herself and shivered in the damp chill of the room. 

"At least we're off the grating," Orion said cheerfully, his voice sounding oddly hollow as it echoed in the room.

Visiron said nothing as he crossed the floor to the door and hit the panel to open it. The door remained shut. Muttering, he pulled a small object out of his cloak and inserted it into the door's small control panel, then started fiddling with the keys.

Eliatra slowly walked forward. "Can't we just open it with a lightsaber?" she asked, fingering her own hilt.

"No," Visiron rasped. "This one's set with alarms. If it's forced open, it'll start going off and we'll be attacked by those turrets quicker than you can say 'Queen Arabella.' Damn it, why won't this open?"

"What turrets?" Orion asked. The room seemed bare of any usually conspicuous turret heads.

Visiron jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the footlocker. Orion walked over to it and experimentally kicked it. Instead of skidding across the floor as he had expected, the locker remained solid and only gave a slight _clang _as his boot connected with it. Crouching down to look inside, he found himself face-to-face with a large gun barrel that was hidden inside the footlocker and apparently attached to a turret set into the floor. "Clever," he remarked.

Eliatra walked over to stand beside Orion as he stood. "That's only one turret, though…"

"The rest are hidden in the walls, but they're slower to come out since they're behind panels. Those are designed to finish you off while you destroy the footlocker one." Visiron sounded tired as he turned from the door. "I can't open it without the proper code to get through.

"How do you know about the turrets?" Eliatra asked suspiciously. It seemed odd that someone who was supposedly against Tris's abductors would know so much about their base…or whatever this was.

"Force sense," Visiron said shortly, then leered unpleasantly when he saw her distrustful look. "The Force holds many secrets, child. Perhaps you'll learn a few if you survive this."

"This isn't helping us get through. We'll have to saber the door and hope for the best," Orion said resolutely.

"And risk us all getting killed?" Visiron hissed.

"Wait, I have an idea," Eliatra said quietly. Orion and Visiron turned to her in slight surprise. "Orion's good at hacking things. If he could try to open the door, Visiron and I could block the turret attacks before running through."

Orion looked doubtful. "I dunno, Eli… I don't want to risk you getting hurt. Like he said, there's too many turrets… you'll almost certainly be hit."

She gave him a pleading look. "We have to take risks if we're going to save Tris. A Jedi's life is sacrifice… remember?"

Orion sighed and looked about to say something, then shook his head slightly. "Fine. I'll do it. Be ready." He waited for Eliatra and Visiron to turn and face the turrets before facing the door himself.

Eliatra cast a sideways glance at Visiron, who was standing at ease with his arms crossed. Eli pulled her lightsaber off her belt and held it at the ready, reassured by its cool firmness in her palm.

There was a faint _click-beep_ from the door behind them, and suddenly a huge red bolt erupted from the footlocker. Eliatra's bright blue blade sprang to life just in time to send it hurtling back toward the turret, but the wall orifices were already sliding open and smaller turrets were protruding. Another set of bolts from the floor turret zipped toward her, but each one was blocked by her lightsaber. Meanwhile Visiron was using a sort of Force-shield to deflect the wall turrets, but the shots were starting to come fast and thick, and Eliatra could tell the shield wouldn't take much more. Suddenly what looked like lightning arced across it. Visiron grunted as a bolt slipped through the shield and struck his shoulder, breaking his concentration and causing the flickering Force-shield to completely disappear.

The welcome sound of the door sliding open sounded behind them. "GO GO GO!" Orion yelled. Eliatra felt him grabbing the back of her tunic and dragging her through the doorway. She threw up a shield of her own and caught the last of the blaster bolts as Visiron ducked through the door and Orion shut it hastily with the Force. The three of them stood panting for a minute in the dim hallway they had stumbled into. Visiron brushed off his robes and nodded at Orion. "Good work, kid. You got us through alive. We're nearly there now." He started half-limping off down the hallway, apparently sure of his destination.

Eliatra threw Orion a grateful glance as they followed Visiron. "Thanks," she murmured.

"No, thank _you_, " he replied, grinning. "We all would've been toast if you hadn't been helping shield. I just opened the door." He paused a moment, then looked at her curiously. "And how did you know about my hacking… skills?"

Eli ducked her head, smiling to herself before looking back up at him. "How _else_ would you have been able to break into anyone and everyone's dorms to play pranks? Come on, 'Rion, it's not like I haven't known you forever."

Orion smacked his forehead with his hand and looked aggrieved. "Ah, once more my status has been discovered, my secrets revealed, my work destroyed! And all by a slip of a girl who seeks to vanquish my very well-being, the soul of my life's effort, my- ow!" His dramatic rant was cut off as Eli teasingly punched him in the arm.

"All right, drama queen, we get the picture… and I'm not a 'slip of a girl,'" she protested, smiling in spite of herself.

He pouted, though his sapphire eyes sparkled. "Fine. You're not a slip of a girl if I'm not a drama queen. I prefer 'Grand Master of All Things Overly Pompous and Full of Themselves, Such As-"

He was interrupted again as Visiron stopped ahead. "We'll have to split up here. The guard patrols start here, so you'll have to be careful. I'll take the left corridor and try to find Rraarhar… you two will go right. The cells should be in that direction." Visiron nodded at the darkened passageway, then started off down the left route.

Eli and Orion stood in silence for a moment as his shuffling steps vanished into the gloom. "Well…" Eliatra said hesitantly, peering down the right-hand corridor. The dimness was pierced in places by the occasional flickering light on the ceiling, creating patchy areas of shadow and illumination. Tris had to be down there, somewhere. "Let's go," she half-whispered with more conviction than she felt.

Orion unexpectedly took her hand as they started down the hall. "There's got to be a console around here somewhere," he muttered thoughtfully.

Eliatra could feel his tenseness with every step. She felt blind without any sort of map, and no idea of how to find Trisana. Both of them stiffened as they heard distant footsteps ahead of them, and faint voices. Orion pulled her into the shadows against the wall, and when she glanced over at him she was startled to see that he had faded completely out of sight. She could still feel his hand in hers, though.

_Do you have a stealth belt?_ His Force-voice was urgent in her mind.

She quickly felt along her belt and almost fainted with relief when her hand ran along the small control panel on it. She flicked the button and held still as the stealth shield charged around her, effectively hiding her from view. _Thank the Force you made me pack one. When did you learn to use Force camouflage, anyway?_

_When you weren't paying attention._ He sounded teasing.

_Obviously…_

She could feel his mental laughter at her reply, though neither of them were making any audible sound. Orion gripped her hand tighter as the sound of footsteps came closer, and a moment later two Weequay guards came into view around a corner several hundred feet down the corridor. They were talking about something in their hoarse language, which Eliatra could make out after a few seconds of concentration.

"Do you think they actually got past the turrets?" One guard was saying.

The other adjusted his grip on his blaster rifle and shrugged. "No one has yet. I expect all we'll see is a nice pile of corpses. Wart'll like 'em." He laughed crudely.

Eliatra tensed as they got closer. Twenty feet… fifteen… ten… At once she jumped out from the wall and hit the two thugs with the biggest Force wave she could muster. They cried out and went flying backwards through the air at the blast, both hitting the sides of the passage with a thud. They went sliding motionless to the floor, completely still, though Eliatra sensed that she hadn't killed them.

"Nice." Orion, visible once more, raised his brow at her. "A bit of overkill, maybe, but not bad."

"I didn't want them coming back to haunt us. Come on, let's see if we can find a console." Eli squared her shoulders resolutely as they walked past the two unconscious guards. She suspected it would not be the last fighting they would have to do.

They came to the corner the thugs had come around and took that route, wordlessly continuing on through the gloom. Orion touched her arm as they came to a blast door on the left and paused. He waved Eli back toward the wall where she would be out of sight, and faded out of vision as he crept toward the door and fiddled with the controls. It slid open a moment later. Eliatra could sense him walking quietly into the room, probably scoping it out, and he came back out into the corridor a minute later with his camouflage dropped.

_Coast's clear. Come on in._

Eliatra walked in and took a look around. Several consoles lined the walls of the small room, but no one was inside. Orion was already back at one of the computers and typing something into it, his brow furrowed in concentration. He grinned as Eli came over and looked around his side at the screen. "I've got a map of the base here. Give me your datapad and I'll upload it."

She handed him the device, and a moment later he gave it back to her after having performed the operation. "Tris should be in cell bloc 5B-82, over on the other side of this level. The guard patrols are thicker over there, but I think I can hack into power control. We'll need to be fast- someone's going to come to see what happened to our Weequay friends pretty quick, here. You'll have to go and find Tris while I make a diversion… I'll catch up with you. Just head for the exit as soon as you get her, all right?" Orion's azure gaze was serious. "And be careful."

She nodded. "I will. You watch it too… I don't want to have to bail you out of trouble, too." She gave him a teasing grin.

Orion looked affronted. "Me, get into _trouble?_ Why, Master Sabre, how could you even _think_ to suggest such a thing?" He returned her grin and patted her shoulder. "Now get going. We've got a friend to save."

"Yessir." Eli saluted him and turned to head out the door, fingering her datapad. She could hear Orion's fingers clattering over the keys as he bent to the console again. Their cheerful joking had masked both their worries; for all Eliatra knew, none of them would escape the base alive. They just had to do their best and trust in their skills.

Eli walked swiftly but quietly along the corridor, consulting her datapad's map every now and then. She could barely feel Tris's presence in the Force, but it was there. She focused on it as she walked, wishing she could reach out to her friend and reassure her. Soon, voices alerted her once more to guards' presences, and she switched on her stealth belt as she stepped toward the wall. What sounded like a Trandoshan and an Aqualish were approaching. Eliatra held still as they moved closer and suddenly emerged around the corner to her right, closer than she'd realized.

"Too bad Kamshi didn't take that blaster," the burly Trandoshan said as they approached. "I would have—hey!" He was interrupted as the power in the hallway suddenly flickered. Eliatra felt a sudden warning in the Force spike in her mind, warning her to move, _now!_ Forgetting about trying to conceal her position, she dived as quickly as she could to the left, away from the two guards. A split second later, lightning arced from a transformer at the end of the corridor toward the two guards. Both screamed and fell to the floor as electricity surged over their bodies in a blinding flash of sparks, the lights in the hallway simultaneously going out. Everything was plunged into darkness. Eli stood cautiously and brushed herself off as her eyes adjusted. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air, but all was still. She realized that this must be Orion's diversion, finally. He'd bought her some time—now she had to use it. She pulled out her datapad and hurried past the fried transformer and around the corner of the hallway, daring to use only a small Force-light to brighten her path.

Fifteen tense minutes later, Eliatra arrived at the end of Cell Bloc 5B and sighed with relief. She'd found it. Brightening her light revealed that there was a very long passage with numerous doors along either side. Each door was numbered in crude letters, but they worked. She started down the hall, her eyes straining through the gloom to find Trisana's cell. She was halfway down the row when a shout rang out barely a hundred feet away. Eli hurriedly dropped her light and moved to the wall, but it was too late. A crimson blaster bolt tore through the darkness and hit the floor only a short distance from Eli's foot. Realizing she would have to take her chances, she yanked her lightsaber hilt off her belt and ignited it. The brilliant cerulean blade immediately lit up her small section of the corridor, and as a result a volley of blaster bolts from her opponent—a brutish Twi'lek—came flying at her. She easily deflected each of them, thanks to Austrina's intensive training in blaster defense, and charged at the guard. He yelled and started to whip out a vibroblade as she came at him, but he wasn't fast enough. Eliatra's sweeping strokes knocked the weapon from his hand in one blow and severed his hand in the next. He yelled in pain and fell back a step, leaving himself open to attack. Instead of attacking with her lightsaber, though, she thrust her free hand forward and hit him with a Force wave that sent him flying back against the wall. He slumped to the floor, unconscious, and Eliatra deactivated her saber as she strode quickly past him. Master Austrina had always emphasized the Jedi values in Eliatra— all life is worth something, no matter who the being.

She quickly found Trisana's cell and pushed on the heavy blast door. It was locked, of course. Eliatra pulled out her lightsaber once more and, igniting it again, pushed it through the door's lock. It slid open a few seconds later to reveal another dark room with three force-field cages and a single table, along with a grungy looking durasteel container. All but one of the cages were empty, and in the last one sat a hunched figure.

"Tris," Eliatra said urgently, and hurried to the cage.

Trisana raised her head wearily and stared. She had to be dreaming. Eliatra's familiar form, holding a gleaming blue lightsaber whose light penetrated even through the flickering barrier of the force field, stood there close enough to touch. "Eli?" She whispered hoarsely.

Eliatra hastily turned off her saber and knelt to look at the cage's control panel. "I'll get you out of there. Just hold on a second… There."

Tris blinked as the force field fell away. Eliatra pulled a short dagger out of her boot, quickly severed the weak stun cuffs around her wrists, and took her hand and pulled her, stumbling a little, out of the cage's boundaries. Tris didn't think she'd ever been happier to see her friend. "I… where are we? Where's Orion? And Master Varian?" She looked around nervously and swayed as the unhealed gash in her forehead reminded her of its presence.

"Hold still." Eliatra touched her forehead gently and closed her eyes. Tris felt the throbbing pain quickly subside until Eli pulled her hand away, and Tris touched her temple gingerly to discover that any trace of injury was gone.

"We're in some place way down in Coruscant," Eli continued as she glanced over her friend for any other wounds. "A man called Visiron led us most of the way. Orion and I split up a while back so that I could find you while he made a diversion… he's going to find a way out after us. We need to get going before the power comes back on and all the guards arrive… where's your lightsaber?"

Tris shook her head. "The slavers took it. I don't know where it is… last time I saw it, a man had it. I don't know his name, and it was too dark to see him well."

Eli bit her lip for a moment. "Don't worry about it. Just stick close to me and you'll be all right. Now come on, let's go."

Tris nodded, and both of them started for the doorway. They stopped as the sudden sound of footsteps approached. "Orion?" Tris asked, trying to see through the darkness.

"Leaving so soon, girls?" A deep voice grated. Eliatra immediately ignited her lightsaber, and its light revealed a tall man dressed in midnight black robes. He leered menacingly at them and lifted his hand. A fiery red blade erupted from his own lightsaber hilt, challenging the pure blue of Eliatra's blade. "I think you'd better reconsider your plans…"


	7. Escape

**A/N:** Soooo... I kinda forgot about uploading here to update. There are some 17 chapters now... but perhaps I will ration them out? Depends on how many reviews I get!! -crafty look- Anyway, thanks for reading and let me know if you like it!

**Disclaimer:** You didn't really think I owned Star Wars, did you? George has _way_ better things to do than sit around posting stuff like this to Seriously.

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**Chapter Seven: Escape**

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Orion crept out of the control center after hacking into, and subsequently disrupting, the electrical system. It hadn't taken him long to overload most of the power transformers, but he had a feeling that the base's occupants would soon get them working again; in fact, he could sense someone coming this way not far off. He could barely sense Eliatra; she seemed to be a fair distance away from him and moving quickly, which was good. The sooner they found Tris and got out of the base, the better.

He paused in the thick darkness of the passage and pulled out his datapad to check the map. The guards' barracks were only a few blocs away, and he could think of a few things that would keep them occupied long enough to let Eliatra and Tris escape. Orion pocketed the map and had started toward the barracks when an uneasy chill ran down his spine. It was like a warning through the Force, but he could sense no immediate danger to himself…

"Eli," he breathed, and spun on his heel to run in the opposite direction, toward the cell blocs.

* * *

Eliatra's heart fluttered in fear, but she narrowed her eyes and raised her saber to her opponent. "Stand down," she warned, surprising herself at the steadiness of her own voice. She could feel Trisana's nervousness behind her. "I am a Jedi. Leave us and I will let you live!"

A crude laugh erupted from the Sith as he slowly stepped forward. "Stand down to a girl? How long have you had your pretty blade? A day? You had better drop it before I give you a taste of mine!"

"How about a taste of this!" There was a snap-hiss and the gleam of blue as a familiar voice rang out right behind the Sith. He whirled to find Orion leaping toward him saber-first, face aglow from his weapon's brilliance. Crimson met azure in a sizzling blow, and Orion drew him out into the cell bloc hallway as their blades continued to flash back and forth.

Eliatra glanced at Trisana, saw the idea forming behind her eyes, and nodded. Together they moved through the doorway and each hit the Sith at the same time with their own Force waves. Too absorbed in his duel with Orion to deflect the attacks, their opponent found himself flung back against the wall with a sharp _crack_ as his skull struck the metal corridor. Carried forward by her own momentum, Eliatra drew her saber and ignited it with one swift movement, then buried it in the Dark Jedi's chest as he tried to move. He fell back with a hiss and sank to the floor, uttering a death rattle before falling limp. The three padawans stood staring at the still form on the ground until Orion finally spoke. "You guys okay?"

"Orion!" Eliatra shook herself out of her stupor and turned to look at him. "Thanks… I couldn't have asked for better timing."

"Yeah," Tris echoed, then hugged her arms around herself. "Can we get out of this place? It's not exactly cozy."

Orion glanced over at her with a grin. "Really? I would've thought you would be the last to say that, Trissy." His expression softened slightly as he stepped forward with a concerned look. "Are you alright, though? Eli and I were afraid we wouldn't reach you fast enough."

"I'm fine," she replied quietly, then met his gaze with a brave smile. "Do you really think a few Sith would be enough to get me down?" She shivered again in spite of herself. She had lost her overcloak at some point, and now that they were out in the corridor, the cool drafts were beginning to get to her.

Orion noticed and wordlessly pulled off his own cloak, settling it around her shoulders as she slipped her arms into it. Tris looked up at him, a little surprised. "Won't you be cold?" His body heat, still lingering on the cloak's fabric, sank reassuringly into her skin.

He patted her shoulder. "I'll be fine… you're the one who's cold." He looked back at Eliatra, who was glancing over her map. "We should be going, though."

"Of course. I think I've found the shortest route out. Follow me." Eliatra turned and hurried down the corridor, clearly as eager to leave as Trisana was.

Tris hugged her arms around herself against the chill as she walked quickly beside Orion to keep up with his long strides through the dark hallway in the depths of the base. Eliatra walked a little ways ahead of them, her pale blue Force light flickering in the gloom as she examined her datapad and tried to read the fragmented map displayed on it. Their breaths were quiet in the darkness as they tried to make as little sound as possible. Every little noise seemed to Trisana like a blaring alarm to the guards, though she knew for a fact that there couldn't be any in this particular area. She glanced over at Orion for a moment. Though she could barely make out his face in the dark, she felt reassured to be so close to him now that the three were together again.

Orion glanced around alertly while absent-mindedly rubbing his arm where a large bruise was forming from his brief battle with the Dark Jedi. He frowned as he thought about Visiron's hasty departure earlier. He'd said that he had gone to find that Wookiee, Rraarhar, but Orion couldn't help wondering if this was really the case. The fact that Visiron, an apparently capable Force sensitive, had enlisted their help at all seemed suspicious. Too suspicious… but at least they had achieved what they'd come here for, which was rescuing Trisana. Glancing down at her at this thought, he noticed that she was extremely tense. He touched her shoulder lightly to get her attention, then smiled reassuringly at her as she jumped and looked up at him. She relaxed slightly and nodded to him, returning his smile.

Eliatra led them down to the end of the corridor and turned a corner to a main passageway, wider than the narrow hallway that led down the cell bloc. Tris stared wide-eyed at the darkened halls. None of this was familiar to her, as she had woken up in the cramped cage her captors had put her in. She was still slightly amazed that her friends had been able to find her, though how they had done it was still a bit of a mystery. Eli's hasty explanation -that they had seen her captors and reached the base with the help of a stranger- had been barely sufficient.

Suddenly Eliatra's bobbing light halted in the darkness ahead. Orion held out his arm to stop Tris, and she waited somewhat impatiently for them to start moving again. Wasn't it important that they get back to their Masters as soon as possible? She drew in a shallow breath as a wave of dark cold swept toward her- no, swept through the Force. She knew who that was. The pale light extinguished suddenly, the dim glow from the datapad disappeared into the blackness, and Eli's padding steps approached them. The three were silent for a long moment, and Tris wondered if someone was going to say something when she realized that Eli's Force presence seemed stronger than normal...as did Orion's. With a jolt she realized that the two must be speaking to each other through the Force. Feeling left out, she was about to join in when her sense of the dark presence increased dramatically. He was close.

She felt a tug on her tunic sleeve as Eli or Orion tried to pull her back the way they had come, but it was too late. There was a burst of glaring red light at the opposite end of the corridor: a crimson lightsaber, held high to illuminate the passage. It was the same corrupt visage Tris had first seen back in the Coruscant Senate sector, the assassin who had kidnapped her what seemed like ages ago, and he didn't look any happier now than he had then. His lightsaber's glow reflected dimly off their faces, catching their frozen eyes almost mesmerizingly.

"What have we here?" he growled menacingly. "Eager to get into the cell blocs, are we?"

Trisana's hand moved for her saber, but her heart sank to her stomach as she remembered she still didn't have it. She would have to make do with the Force.

Remembering Tris was unarmed, Orion shook off his shock at their new opponent. Squashing his fear down he hauled Tris behind him, missing her angry look, and ignited his blue saber. It was closely followed by Eli's cyan blade, their light combining to beat back the crimson. "Who are you?" Orion asked, his voice tight and his hands tensed on his saber hilt.

_What should we do?_ He asked Eli through the Force, keeping an eye on their opponent.

_I don't think we can take him on by ourselves… he seems too powerful. We have to get past him and into the tunnel on the right,_ Eli replied worriedly.

_Alright. I'll distract him. You and Tris get the hell out of here,_ he told her, still looking ahead.

_No! I wont leave you! There's no way you can take him on by yourself. Two is better than one!_ Eliatra replied vehemently.

He sighed. _Fine. Tell Tris. _He tensed again when the Sith across from them started cackling.

"I? I am the one who's going to get a handsome price for bringing in not one, but _three_ Jedi brats!" he sneered at them in response to Orion's question.

"Don't be so sure about that!" Orion retorted boldly and dropped into a fighting stance while Eli whispered to Tris.

Meanwhile, Trisana seethed as Orion hauled her behind himself and stood defensively. She might be the youngest, but she could take care of herself! Eliatra touched her shoulder a moment later.

"Tris!" she whispered urgently. "Orion and I are going to distract him. I don't know if we can bring him down, but we'll try. You need to get to the tunnel on the right and try to find a way out. After we finish here, we'll find you. Okay?" Eliatra had a feeling that the Sith was far beyond their experience, but now was no time for faltering.

Tris gaped slightly. "You're telling me to leave you two to fight _him_?" she hissed. "No way!"

"Tris, _you're not armed!_ He'll cut you down in an instant!"

She narrowed her eyes at Eli and was about to retort, then realized now was no time for an argument. Getting an idea, she nodded in resignation. "Alright. Be careful, Eli."

Eliatra nodded and touched her shoulder reassuringly, then moved to stand next to Orion.

Tris took a step back and watched the two padawans face the Sith lord. He smiled venomously and dropped into a half-crouch, then held his saber horizontally before him. There was a snap-hiss, and a second blade extended opposite the first. A double-bladed saber. "I may not get as high a price for dead Jedi than for live ones, but there will still be credits to show gratitude for three fewer Jedi brats in the galaxy..." he hissed, and leapt at them with sudden feline grace.

Eliatra and Orion sprang into action, their brilliant azure and cerulean sabers cutting through the darkness like ice through night's shroud. Trisana sank into the shadows, waiting for her moment to act.

Orion ducked desperately under an overhead strike from the Sith's blade and twisted to the side while bringing up his saber to block the second blade. By his side, Eliatra swiftly attacked the assassin with her own graceful style, but somehow the blood-red blades were everywhere at once, both blocking the Jedi's blows and striking mercilessly down at them. They had fought on for some minutes and both padawans were beginning to tire, while the Sith seemed to have an endless supply of energy, and their attacks began to be more and more desperate. Eliatra tried to strike at the Sith from behind as he bore down on Orion, but he easily evaded her blow and spun to counterattack, driving her back. Suddenly his foot lashed out and connected powerfully with Eli's stomach, sending her flying back into the wall with its force. She slid to the floor and fell limp, her saber hilt rolling out of her limp hand. "Eli!!" Orion shouted as the Sith lunged in for the kill. Orion managed to leap in front of her, driving him back momentarily.

Tris watched in horrified fascination and, if she was honest with herself, jealousy, as Orion tried to protect Eli and himself at the same time. Looking around, she searched for something –anything– to help. Her eye landed on a slightly rusted vibroblade lying in a corner. _Better than nothing,_ she thought as she hastily bent to pick it up. Suddenly she heard a cry and quickly glanced up. Orion was on his knees and clutching a long sear on his arm. Blood stained the edges of his singed clothing around a deep gash on his leg. His saber lay several feet away from him, and Eliatra was still unconscious.

The Sith lifted his saber and prepared to bring it down on Orion. "Not so tough now, are you, brat?" he sneered. Orion glared defiantly up at him. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to die cowering. Without warning, he felt a spike of fury from… Trisana? The Sith above him froze and choked, his eyes going wide. He turned, exposing a blade buried in his spine, and Trisana standing behind, glaring angrily at the Sith as he collapsed. "You... will pay... for this!" he coughed, blood splattering his lips, and flung his hand out as he fell.

"Tris, look out!!" Orion yelled, seeing what the Sith was doing. Tris tried to dive out of the way, but was clipped by a strange ball of sickly looking olive light that flew from the Sith's fingertips just before Orion felt his life force fade. Struggling up, he limped to Tris. "You alright?" He asked anxiously. Tris nodded, wondering what that strange power was, as it hadn't seemed to affect her. Orion limped to Eli and kneeled down beside her, then shook her gently. "Eli?"

She only moaned slightly. Orion thought a moment and carefully fed some of his energy into her. He was no healer, but maybe it would help. Eli's eyes fluttered open a minute later, and she blinked in confusion, trying to clear the blurriness from her vision. Orion's face swam above her, and she frowned slightly. "What...what happened? Orion? Where's Tris?"

"Right here," Tris said. "Here, Orion, let me see if I can heal her..."

Orion gave her a skeptical look. "You can't heal any better than I can..." He shifted position anyway, grimacing at the pain from his own wounds.

Tris ignored him and crouched next to her friend, then laid her hand on Eli's forehead. Closing her eyes, she started to reach into the Force…then quickly realized she couldn't. _I can't have forgotten so fast,_ she thought, and tried again. Again she had the sensation of simply closing her eyes and doing nothing, instead of the powerful movement she so often felt when using the Force. She opened her eyes again and glanced at Orion. "I can't. Orion, I..."

"You what?" he prodded.

"It's like I can't feel the Force!" She heard the desperation rising in her own voice and told herself to calm down. _No use panicking._

Eliatra blinked at her. "What do you mean? And what happened to our Dark side friend?"

"Tris killed him," Orion said at the same time Tris said, "I killed him." Tris grinned rather triumphantly. She had escaped none the worse for the wear, while Orion and Eli had both accumulated wounds. She suddenly felt bad for taking so much pride in herself, and glanced at Orion. "You're hurt..."

"I noticed," Orion said dryly.

Eliatra looked between both of them and sat up, starting to recover already with the help of Orion's slight healing. "You _what??_ Tris... I told you to stay out of it! How did you..."

Tris glanced at the dead body, with its rusty blade protruding obviously from the back. Eli followed her look and sighed. "You could have been killed..."

"But I wasn't," Tris said indignantly. "And if I hadn't stuck around to help, both of you would be dead, and you know it!"

"That's true..." Orion said as he used the Force to summon his saber to his hand. Eli glanced at him reproachfully. "What? It _is_ true. We would have been dead," he said defensively.

Eli sighed in resignation. "I suppose," she said as Tris grinned proudly. "But she still shouldn't have risked her life like that." Tris frowned at her. Unnoticing, Eli gingerly got to her feet and glanced at Orion in concern. "Are you all right?"

"Never better!" He said brightly. "I always have brushes with death by Sith in the bowels of a sewer. Of course, I also have near death experiences when I try to cook, so I don't know if this is beyond my norm." He gestured to his saber wounds.

Eliatra winced when she saw the cuts. "And you say you get injuries like these while _cooking?_ I'm worried, 'Rion, I really am..." She half-smiled and laid her hand on his injured arm. The wound glowed pale blue for a moment before slowly coming together and healing smoothly. She quickly repeated the procedure with the long gash up his leg, and stood, steadying herself against the wall.

Trisana looked on, somehow feeling left out again. She had been their savior, yet their concerns had turned from her so quickly…  
_A Jedi's life is sacrifice._ Master Varian's seemingly favorite Jedi catchphrase came back to her, and she sighed and tried to shake off the selfishness that seemed to be taking hold of her lately. Finally Eliatra turned back toward her.

"I don't want to linger here any longer than we have to, but… you said something about not being able to Force heal me?"

Tris nodded, a slight feeling of fear coiling in her stomach. "That's right. I tried to heal you, and I know how to, but… it just wouldn't come. It's like I couldn't even feel the Force."

"Can you use it to move something?" Orion asked, holding out his saber hilt.

Tris stretched out her hand, as she was accustomed to, and tried to reach out for the Force. It was a gesture she had used many times and came to her as easily as breathing, but now… all she was aware of was the empty air her hand was reaching through, and the lightsaber still sitting securely in Orion's palm. She dropped her hand and sighed despondently. "I can't feel it at all. It's no use."

"It must have been that strange power…" Orion mused.

"What? What strange power?" Eli asked, confused.

Tris explained. "The one that the Sith tried to hit me with, just before he died. He shot this weird sphere of greenish light at me, and it would've hit me straight on if Orion hadn't warned me--" she smiled at him, "And I hadn't ducked out of the way in time. It still hit me a little, but I think it just grazed me."

"Did it hurt?" Eliatra asked, intrigued.

Trisana shook her head. "No. There was just this odd… vibrating sort of feeling for a second, but that was it."

Orion shook his head. "Maybe the masters will know. We have to get out of here alive first." He looked around and summoned the Sith's saber, then handed his own to Tris.

She looked at him in confusion, so he shrugged and explained. "Since you can't feel the Force, it's better that you use a weapon that you are familiar with."

Eli grinned at him. "I'm surprised. Were you actually trying to use your brain this time?"

Orion looked indignant. "Of course I do!" Then he smiled impishly. "How else would I plan all those pranks?"

Tris shook her head and handed the lightsaber back to him. "If we're attacked, _you_ should have your own weapon. If you give me yours, we'll _both_ be handicapped."

Orion shrugged and handed her the double bladed saber hilt. "Okay, fine. Now c'mon. The noise might have alerted them. Everything seems to echo here."

Eli nodded and brought out the datapad again after making a dim Force light. After studying it a moment, she set off again, followed by the other two.

After a few minutes of walking, Tris noticed that Orion wasn't next to her and looked back. He was walking behind her and looking around again. He noticed her gaze and smiled slightly before returning to his vigil. Trisana couldn't help but feel resentment. Even though she was armed now, he still felt she needed watching, though a tiny part of her felt warm at the thought. Sighing, she looked forward again and continued to trail Eli, feeling oddly alone now that she couldn't feel the Force.

_Funny, I never realized how much I use it even when I'm not fighting or actively using the Force..._ she mused. She felt empty, like a shell of a Jedi. The double saber felt solid in her hand, a sturdy weapon, but not like an extension of her body, as her own blade usually did. Even the shadows seemed darker around her. Things seemed to lurk at the edge of the light, then scurry away from the guttering illumination. She shook her head slightly and looked forward.

_I'm just imagining it._ Maybe this was only temporary… a chilling thought suddenly occurred to her. What if it wasn't temporary? What if she was cut off from the Force permanently? She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she almost ran into Eli's heels as she stopped again to check the datapad. "Are we getting close?" Tris asked hesitantly.

"I think so. The lift should be around here somewhere..." the older padawan murmured. She strode forward again after a moment. They passed a wide opening on the right, but Eliatra continued on past it. Orion caught up to them suddenly, startling Tris with his quietness, and tapped Eli's shoulder. "Get to the shadows. Someone's coming."

Eli turned around and met his gaze; they both nodded and sank back against the wall, Eliatra quickly extinguishing her light. A few seconds later, three guards rounded the corner of the hall they had just passed, going down the way Eli, Tris, and Orion had just come from. They were so busy discussing something—probably the cost of replacement speeder parts, by the sound of it—that they didn't even spare a glance for the hallway the three padawans were hiding in. Trisana exhaled in relief as the sound of their voices faded down the corridor.

Eli brought up her light again and hurried down the hall, closely followed by Tris. They soon arrived at a dingy-looking pair of doors with a control panel next to them, its screen glowing with what had to be emergency power. Eli glanced over at Orion. "Are you any better with computers than I am?" she asked. "It'll probably need to be overridden, but I don't know how to cut into that sort of thing without setting off alarms."

Orion shrugged. "If it's anything like Master Khvee's personal computer console, I'm sure it'll be a snap." He bent down to examine the panel, oblivious to Eliatra's startled look.

Eliatra looked outraged at the thought that he would slice into his Master's personal affairs, and considered scolding him, but stopped and sighed. Tris grinned at her exasperated expression, knowing what she was thinking. Orion was Orion, and nobody could change that. This was attested by the fact that he had been transferred between Jedi academies nearly half a dozen times, and before he was ten to boot.

There were suddenly several rapid beeps from the console, then Orion seemed to almost be panicking while hastily pressing several buttons. He made a curious noise, then smacked the panel hard. There was one last beep and the doors shuddered shakily open. Orion smiled weakly at them. "See? A snap!"

Eli sighed and shook her head as they hurried into the lift. The doors creaked closed behind them, and with some jerks the lift started ascending.

Tris glanced over Eli's shoulder at the datapad. "How much longer till we're out of this dump?" she asked.

"Dump?" Eli grinned a little. "You mean you don't like the interior decorating here? I thought it was pretty inventive myself."

"Whatever, Eli..."

Her friend laughed. "Not too much farther, I think. Of course, there's the matter of finding our way to the surface once we get out of the base..."

Tris shot her a nervous look. "You mean there's _more_?"

Orion chuckled. "There's a lot more. Of course, it's not too bad, if you don't mind half-mutilated vengeance-seeking Sith, or whatever he was, and slimy sewer tentacles. The things we've seen down here make Dantooine's kath hounds look pretty tame."

"You forgot about the juvenile rancor in the drainage pond." Eli pointed out.

"Oh, yeah… and those shyracks near the generator ventilation shaft."

Tris groaned. "Lovely…"

Orion grinned cheerfully at her. "You don't sound very enthusiastic, Tris. We were having such a grand-"

With a loud screech, the flickering lights shut off and the lift lurched to a sudden halt, throwing them to the side and causing Orion to stumble into Tris. "Sorry, Trissy." He pushed himself up, not noticing Tris's suddenly red face in the dark. He helped them both up and punched some buttons on the panel. "The power's gone. Either we wait for it to come back on, or we-" he looked up at the lift's roof. "…do it the hard way."

"Dammit!" Tris swore and kicked the side of the lift. It shuddered, creaked loudly and dropped a few feet. Everyone froze. "Okay, that wasn't a good idea." Tris said tensely, a faint sheen of sweat collecting on her brow.

Orion gave her a strained smile. "Yeah. Swearing at inanimate objects is a bad idea."

"I'd rather not wait for those guards we passed to come looking for us," Eli said. She glanced at Tris and grinned rather impishly. "And besides, I'm not sure it would work after the power came back, anyway...you might've hurt its feelings."

"I'll get our escape route set up then," Orion volunteered. "Stand back."

Eli and Tris squeezed to the walls of the lift as Orion ignited his saber and cut a hole in the roof, pushing it out above him with the Force and quickly jumping through. Eli nodded at Tris to go next. She leapt up through the hole and landed nimbly on the roof, Orion steadying her shoulder as she stood and looked around. Eliatra appeared a moment later, standing cautiously on the rough metal. A narrow shaft stretched upward above them, vanishing into darkness just a short distance from where they were. "This is good," Tris muttered. Orion glanced at her and grinned teasingly.

"Don't go swearing at the lift again, Tris, it might not decide to stop next time."

Eli was already bringing out her Force light again to try to illuminate the elevator shaft. The light glowed brilliantly, its rays stretching out above them through the darkness. A dark opening appeared about 150 feet above their heads on the left side. Eli glanced at Tris and Orion. "I'm not sure we can jump that one..."

Orion nodded in agreement. "Then we do it the old fashioned way. We climb." He looked at the shaft. "We should have good enough hand holds…" He stepped to the edge of the lift, and before they could stop him, he jumped the short distance to the wall. Latching on to the metal struts he looked down and grinned back at the two girls. "C'mon over! The view's excellent!"

Eli and Tris exchanged a roll of eyes at Orion. Eli leaped up and landed nimbly next to Orion. Tris was about to jump before she realized she couldn't count on the Force to give her power for the jump. Backing up to the other side, she ran forward. As her feet pounded on the lift's roof, it groaned beneath her. The moment Tris jumped, the lift plummeted into the depths below. Tris flew through the air and hit the wall, her hands scrabbling for a hold. She panicked when she felt her fingers slipping on the strut, but before she could fall two hands clamped on her arms. Looking up, she saw she had landed between Eli and Orion, and they each had one of her arms. She gave them a grateful look of relief as they lifted her up and held her until she got a solid grip.

Orion laughed. "That lift really had it in for you, huh?" Tris just gave him a cross look, still unnerved by her close call.

Eli shook her head. "Let's get going," she said and started up, followed by Tris with Orion tailing them.

Eliatra climbed swiftly up the shaft, closely followed by Tris. They were about halfway up and without incident when the opening above them flickered, then glowed with light that streamed out into the shaft. "Looks like they got the power on," Eli commented. From far below them, a groaning creak sounded, followed by a heavy, echoing clank, and then a faint hum.

"I'm willing to bet that wasn't a good noise," Tris said.

"I think your friend is coming back, Trissy," Orion commented below them.

Eliatra climbed faster, her hands scrabbling for holds as they approached the opening. Below them the hum of the elevator grew increasingly louder. Eli had just grabbed the bottom of the opening when Tris gave a small scream. In her haste, she had grabbed for a handhold but missed, sending her plunging off-balance to one side. Eliatra swung her legs up to the doorway so she would have a better grip and grabbed for Tris's hand, clasping it quickly. The other padawan sighed with relief and, with Eli's help, clambered quickly up through the doorway and kneeled shakily on the floor. Eli grabbed Orion's hand and helped him swing up through the doorway only moments before the elevator rumbled past, streaking upward. Eli stood and cautiously poked her head into the shaft, watching it ascend. "We'd better hurry, they're bound to come after us," she said quietly. "You okay, Tris?"

"Fine," Tris said shortly, brushing herself off as she stood. If she'd had use of the Force, she never would have slipped… realizing she had sounded ungrateful, she glanced up at Eli. "Thanks for catching me."

"No problem." Eli shrugged and smiled a little, then pulled her datapad back out of her tunic. "I think we're on level four hundred thirty-seven… if we take a left up here…" She started off down the hallway, examining the map on her datapad and muttering to herself.

Tris glanced over at Orion. "Coming?"

"After you, Milady!" He made a dramatic, sweeping bow. Tris sighed and shook her head, then started walking after Eli. They had been following the maze of corridors for a quarter of an hour when the sound of snuffling and yipping came from ahead. The trio paused as the sound got louder. Suddenly, several large beasts rounded the corner ahead. They slowed to a halt, regarded the three padawans with malice, and started growling, strings of drool dripping from their slavering jaws.

"What are they?" Tris whispered softly, gripping her saber tightly.

"A bunch of demented, mutated, ugly kath hounds?" Orion guessed as he caught up to them, also gripping his saber.

"I think you're right…" Eli replied, eyeing the hounds.

"I am?" Orion sounded astounded.

"Yes, now pay attention!" Eli ignited her saber as a hound prepared to leap, followed by the other two. The beasts yelped and backed off in fear of the glowing blades. Tris waved her double bladed saber awkwardly, trying to avoid slicing her foot off. She hadn't figured out how the Sith had ignited only one blade. Eli bit back her momentary surge of fear at the suddenness of the hounds' appearance and leapt at them, her sabers extended. "For the Jedi!!" she yelled triumphantly as her saber bit into one huge kath hound's side. Between her and Orion's quick saber work, the three animals soon lay dead on the floor. Orion turned off his saber, glanced at Eli and raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Eli asked indignantly. "I always wanted to say that."

"Thanks for leaving one for me," Tris huffed, turning off the double-bladed saber. "Don't make me feel useless or anything back here."

"Sorry…" Eli shrugged. "But by the look of it, it's going to take you a while to get used to that saber. I'd rather fight your enemies than risk you cutting off your leg."

Orion shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Trissy. The important thing is getting out of here alive. Eli?"

"Hmm? Oh." Eli pulled her datapad out of her tunic again and squinted at it. "We're almost there… the last elevator to the sewer entrance is just up this hallway and to the left." She was so absorbed in the map that she didn't notice the dark presence in the Force approaching nearby…

**A/N: **Oh yeah, did I mention this was a hella long chapter? Thanks VERY VERY MUCH to Jen for helping to write a good deal of this back when we RP'ed it. She is my wonderful brainstorming partner and co-writer when we become famous. Booyah!


	8. Day's End

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Star Wars or Jedi or even a working lightsaber. Still, do your best to enjoy it.

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**Chapter Eight: Day's End**

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"Good," Trisana said, hooking the saber on her belt and crossing her arms. "I don't know about the rest of you, but-"

Eliatra had paused instead of continuing forward, her eyes focused ahead and her body tensed. "Tris," she muttered warningly.

"I'm plenty tired of this place," she continued, looking back at Orion for support. It was just like Eli to tell her to be quiet at the most unreasonable times. "You would think it was enough for them to lock me up in a cell and take away my saber, but-eep!" She was interrupted as Orion, instead of coming to her aid, clasped his hand firmly over her mouth and pulled her to the wall.

"_Shush_," he hissed, then carefully released her.

Tris turned to look up at him, her pale blue eyes narrowed in anger. "What-"

Eliatra grabbed her arm and shook her head slightly, her dark eyes widened in a way that clearly said _be quiet!_

But it was too late. Just as Eliatra turned to look back down the hallway, three figures rounded the corner at a swift walk, drawing a collective gasp of alarm from the three padawans. In the center was a towering Wookiee –it had to be Rraarhar– with a tall, cruel-looking man in dark robes and Visiron flanking him on either side. They came to a halt as they spotted the Jedi, and the Wookiee snarled something, then lifted his rifle. Visiron lifted one scarred hand, his glittering eyes never leaving the padawans. "Hold your fire, Rraarhar," he rasped. "These three are worth more to me alive."

The man on the other side of Rraarhar glanced over at Visiron. "What would you have me do with them, my Lord?" he asked, his hand reaching inside his cloak and pulling out a lightsaber hilt. Silver glinted from within his robes.

Trisana gasped, the first of the three to make a move. "He has my saber!" She cried indignantly, pointing at the yet-unnamed Sith.

"You!" Eliatra exclaimed at the same time, staring at Visiron. She could barely believe her eyes. Had the Wookiee and Visiron been on the same side all along? "You-"

Visiron began to chuckle coldly, the sound harsh on their ears. "You children got farther than I thought you would," he grated, sounding almost amused. "Tell me, what became of Krivven? I was under the impression he had gone to stop you."

Orion stepped forward to stand beside Eliatra, his jaw set. "You mean your other assassin?" He asked stonily. "He's dead, as you will be if you don't let us pass!"

_Are you crazy?!_ Eliatra asked him anxiously through the Force. _We can't get past these three! Even if Tris could use the Force, we wouldn't have a chance!_

_And what do you propose we do?_ He replied tensely. _Give up? Let them kill us? Die in cowardice, a disgrace to our masters and the Jedi?_

_Of course not. But- _

Her thought was cut off by the tall Sith's snort of contempt. "Krivven was a weakling," he snarled. "He deserved to die. As do you three, but I will do as my Lord Erebin commands."

"Erebin? Is that what your underlings call you?" Orion retorted, his sapphire eyes narrowed at the scarred Sith. "What happened to Visiron? Or is that only the alias you use when you betray young Jedi?"

Visiron let out a slow, raspy laugh and stepped leisurely forward, the slit of his mouth stretching into a grimace-like smile. "Azier merely calls me by my true name," he smirked. "And what is betrayal to a Sith? Only another means for gaining power, for achieving one's goals. How could I resist three _gullible_ young Jedi, in the prime of their training, and with obvious power? It would be a shame indeed to pass up such an opportunity. You expect me to let you leave?"

"No." Eliatra lifted her chin and took a step forward, pulling her saber hilt from her belt. "I expect you'll get more than you bargained for."

Beside her, Orion grinned. "Atta girl," he muttered.

Visiron straightened, his eyes –both natural and mechanical- glittering ominously. "Have it your way. You'll bow to the Dark side soon enough, and you won't escape this time." He stretched out one gnarled hand toward them with clawlike fingers extended. Lightning began to form and crackle in his palm, each eerie tendril illuminating his deeply scarred features. "Drop your weapons," he rasped. "Surrender to me!"

"_Never!_" Eliatra shouted as she lifted her saber and ignited it. Beside her, Orion did the same. Across from them, the other Sith –Azier- ignited his own reddish-bronze lightsaber while the Wookiee leveled his rifle at them. Eliatra clenched her hands on her saber hilt and held it before her face as she took a deep breath. "We are Jedi!!" she cried, and rushed forward with her saber held before her.

Visiron immediately snapped his palm toward the advancing padawans. The lightning leapt from his hand and expanded in the air above them like a looming wave, then came crashing down on them with a series of ear-splitting cracks. Orion skidded to a stop and swiftly grabbed Eli around the shoulders in protection. Barely pausing to think, Eliatra raised her free arm to shield her eyes and reached out for the Force more desperately than she ever had. In her mind's eye was a powerful shield around both of them that would absorb the deadly bolts of lightning, but she had no idea if it would work…

_Good one, Eli! C'mon, we can do this!_ Orion's Force-voice burst into her mind, and she hastily opened her eyes to find that neither of them had been struck by the Force lightning, but Visiron wasn't waiting around to share her elation over the small victory. Azier was already sweeping toward them, his blade spinning. Rraarhar howled and released a volley of blaster bolts at them like deadly rain, Eliatra's blade moving to block them barely in time. Orion met Azier first and didn't falter even at the Sith's powerful attacks. Eliatra moved to follow him, but Rraarhar leapt in front of her with a snarl and a glittering vibrostaff that suddenly appeared in his claws in place of the blaster rifle. Undaunted, she struck out at the towering Wookiee and quickly spotted his flaws in melee combat. Though he was fast, with both ends of his weapon constantly flicking out at her, his style left huge openings in his defense that she quickly exploited. She dove forward in an attack on his midsection that he barely blocked, then she spun back to avoid his counterstrike that would have cleaved her in half from shoulder to hip if she hadn't moved in time. Wasting no time, she darted forward again, her blade held high, and struck downward as he recovered from his own missed attack. Rraarhar let out a screeching roar of pain as Eliatra's blade swept down his thigh, and he hurled his blade at her in rage. She blocked the blow and was about to deliver another attack on his midsection when she found her throat suddenly and violently constricted, her entire body nearly lifted off the ground with its force. Gasping frantically, she looked around for the one who had attacked her and spotted Visiron, his mutilated face twisted into a terrible smile. "Drop your blade, girl!" he hissed. Eliatra only narrowed her eyes and gripped her lightsaber hilt harder, trying to concentrate, to breathe… if only she could get air…

Suddenly there was a cry of pain from behind them, and Visiron looked up, momentarily distracted. Orion had stabbed Azier through the shoulder, though through the haze beginning to cloud her vision, Eliatra thought she saw Orion favoring some wounds of his own. In that moment, she could sense Visiron's grip on her become weaker, more brittle, and in that moment she fought it. The Force flooded her senses and cleared her mind long enough for her to tear away the Sith's grip on her airway and to fling a Force wave at him, letting her drop to her knees, every muscle trembling as she gasped for breath. Visiron hissed with fury and stepped toward her while she drew herself to her feet and lifted her blade once more. "It would be a pity," he rasped, "to have to kill such a worthy acolyte… but I-"

Whatever he was going to do was interrupted as the sound of a third lightsaber igniting caught their attention. Trisana had somehow slipped past the group and was standing at the opposite end of the hallway, where Visiron and the others had first come from, with her borrowed double-bladed saber held defiantly in front of her. "Get the brat!" Visiron screeched at Rraarhar. The Wookiee, who had stood back when Visiron had Force choked Eliatra, snarled and turned toward Trisana as he pulled his blaster off his back. The padawan paled and took a step back, knowing she couldn't block the blaster shots with her clumsy weapon. "Tris!!" Eliatra screamed and ran after Rraarhar even as Visiron lifted his hand to strike her down with the Force. She lifted her saber, her adrenaline-fueled muscles propelling her forward, and –faltered—stumbled—as lightning, each branch crackling in white-hot cacophony, arced over her body, setting her nerves afire in agony. Dreamlike, she felt herself lift off the ground in a jump half-fueled by her own momentum and, somehow, her lightsaber slowly bent down and slid into the Wookiee's back like a needle through cloth. Her hands slipped from the hilt as her momentum sent her drifting past Rraarhar—a faint roar reached her ears—and suddenly she found her shoulder crashing into the ice-cold floor and her body skidding several feet before lying still. Everything seemed quiet, her dazed mind noted, shortly before a welcoming darkness wrapped itself around her, and all was still.

"_ELI!!_" Orion yelled as he saw her hurtle to the floor, closely followed by Rraarhar, who clawed in vain at the bright blue blade emerging from the front of his belly before toppling over with a howl of pain. Eli's blade deactivated and fell to the ground with a metallic clatter, then slowly rolled to a stop near her boot. Azier's snarl brought Orion's attention back to him, and he raised his blade just in time to block another flurry of vicious attacks from the Sith. Suddenly filled with desperation for Eliatra and impatience for the Sith, Orion ducked swiftly beneath a blow to his head, sending Azier stumbling off-balance, and reached out his hand. The Force came to his aid in a brilliant rush, focusing at his palm before striking Azier so powerfully that he flew into the wall and slid to the floor in a limp heap. Orion spun on his heel and sprinted toward Eli, no longer aware of the deep wounds to his leg and arm that Azier had given him. Visiron was already approaching the fallen padawan, lightning crackling in his hands again. He looked up at Orion and smiled mirthlessly. "Don't you touch her," Orion warned as he came to a halt across from the Sith, tightening his grip on his saber hilt. His blade flickered brightly in the half-lit hall, but his sapphire-blue eyes glowed with greater fire. Eliatra lay prone between them, her chest barely moving. "Don't touch her!" He repeated, never moving his gaze from Visiron's darkly glittering one.

A low chuckle escaped from Visiron's chest. "Surrender yourself to me, and perhaps I'll let her live," he grated. Orion hesitated—surely it could not come to this! —and Visiron took a step forward, the sphere of lightning in his hands growing larger. "Unless you are more concerned for your own life than hers?" The scars on his face deepened as his twisted smile widened.

"Orion! DUCK!" Trisana's voice rang out behind him and Visiron hissed in slight surprise. Not bothering to turn and see what she'd done, Orion dived forward and grabbed Eliatra, hastily pocketed her saber, spun on his heel while still crouching, and sprinted back toward Trisana with Eli swung over his good shoulder. There was a deafening explosion from behind him, and tiny particles slammed into his retreating back a moment later. As he rounded the corner ahead, a quick glance back at Visiron confirmed his suspicions: Trisana had thrown a frag grenade at the Sith. Just ahead, Tris was waiting anxiously at the open doors of a lift, her saber-staff hilt in hand. She darted inside just before Orion fell in behind her, and she frantically pounded the control panel until the doors shuddered closed. Once the lift started moving, Tris collapsed against one grimy wall and watched Orion as he pulled Eliatra carefully off his shoulder and set her on the floor. She almost seemed asleep, with her eyes closed peacefully and her features relaxed, but her skin was too pale and her breathing too shallow for it to simply be slumber. "Is she okay?" Trisana asked in concern.

Orion kneeled beside her and pressed his fingers to her throat to feel for a pulse, then shook his head slightly. "I don't know," he murmured, worry straining his voice. "That-" He uttered a word Tris had never heard him say before, "hit her with Force lightning when her back was turned. She had no way to block it. I… we have to get her back to the surface. We _have_ to." He looked up at Trisana more seriously than she'd ever seen him, then stood and raked his hands back through his blood- and sweat-matted hair.

"Can you-" Tris was interrupted as the lift shuddered to a stop, but the doors remained closed.

"Damnit," Orion muttered under his breath. "What is it with elevators in this place?"

"I wonder if they've found us?" Trisana paled. They were in no condition to fight even more Sith.

"They couldn't have, Visiron can't have just shrugged off that grenade and gone to comm security… or what passes for it in this cesspool of a base." He moved to the control panel and started rapidly typing in commands. "There's got to be a way…"

Tris watched him anxiously. "A way to what?"

"To hack- aha. Piece of cake." He smiled slightly and tapped a final button. "They could really use some improvement in the communication relays in this place," he remarked casually. "It couldn't have been easier to redirect-" The lift groaned metallically and suddenly dropped with a jolt. Orion yelped, Tris let out a small scream, and both stumbled as the lift stopped again, then began its ascent once more. "Heh," Orion coughed. "Like I was saying…"

Tris rolled her eyes. "Sure, Orion."

The lift doors creaked open a minute later onto a dank, decidedly slimy hallway with deep trenches on either side and thick pipes running overhead. The two padawans exchanged looks—Tris dubious and Orion determined—then he stooped to lift Eliatra, cradled her in his arms, and they started into the sewers.

They had been walking for some time in search of a route to the surface—the datapads were no use now that they were out of the base—and Trisana was leading the way, but her thoughts had wandered from the matter at hand. Orion was stoically carrying the unconscious Eliatra without a word of complaint, though she knew that the deep wound in his left arm must be causing him more than a little pain, and his limping footsteps were echoing through the cold passage. A small knot of jealousy was growing in the pit of Tris's stomach at Orion's painstaking care for their friend. He had never shown _her _such concern before, and she began to wish that she had been the injured one instead of Eliatra, if only to feel those strong arms supporting her.

_Don't be unreasonable. He came all the way down here to rescue you, didn't he?_ The voice of reason reminded her. Impulsively, she hugged his oversized cloak around herself and sighed, trying to console herself. He _had_ come down to this hell-hole to rescue her, and he _would_ have done exactly the same for her as he was doing for Eliatra, if…

Something skittered through the darkness a little ways ahead, making Tris stop short in sudden fear and Orion almost run into her. "Something's ahead," she breathed, reaching for the Sith saber.

Orion shook his head. "Probably nothing," he said wearily. "C'mon, let's just find a way out of here."

Tris nodded shakily and tried to calm her racing heart as they ventured on again, though she stepped softly and listened as hard as she could. A few minutes later they came upon a huge, circular drainage chamber not unlike the ones that Eliatra and Orion had traveled through earlier, with a roaring pillar of water cascading to the depths of Coruscant in the center and a narrow walkway ringing the sides of the cylinder. More unsettling, however, were the numerous gray _things_ dotting the walkway, that looked up when Orion and Tris entered the chamber. The closest one let out a gusty hiss and lumbered toward them on scaly, clawed feet that clicked on the grating of the walkway. Trisana would later reflect that they looked like enormous, hairless rats, some nearly as tall as her hip, that were covered in warts and erupting sores; but right now the only thing that ran through her mind was that they were monsters, and they were going to attack her. Before Orion could act, she whipped out her double-bladed saber, ignited it, and charged at the rat. It rose up on its hind legs as she approached, but it was no match for even her awkward use of the glittering crimson blade. It let out a terrible squeal and collapsed, twitching, after she plunged one blade into its belly. She backed away from it, staring, until Orion yelled from behind her. "Tris! Ahead of you!"

Three more of the beasts were waddling toward her, their yellowed teeth bared in apparent malice. Trisana spun her staff and lunged forward again, burying her saber in the first one's chest, beheading the second, and—where was the third? She turned just in time to see that it had clambered onto the narrow railing and flung itself maniacally at her. "Take _that!"_ she grunted as she leapt aside and let it impale itself on her blade. Still panting, she glanced up. The path to the first door along the walkway was clear, though more rats were approaching along the far side. She waved to Orion, who was already hurrying up behind her. "Come on, let's go!" She yelled to him. They reached the door just before the rats did and hurried inside as the leader was almost on Trisana's heels. She slammed it shut and wiped her sweaty brow before glancing at Orion, wondering if he would thank her for single-handedly getting them through a bunch of mutilated monsters. Orion, however, wasn't paying attention. He was staring at the far end of the short passage they were in, where there was a series of rungs set into a dead-end wall…

"A ladder!" He sighed in relief. "Thank the Force. I thought we'd never get out of this place."

Tris dropped her saber in her robe pocket and nodded, feeling equal relief wash over her. Finally, a ray of hope to their bleak situation. Suddenly she glanced at Orion as a thought occurred to her. "How are you going to get Eli up there?" She asked in concern as they neared the ladder. It seemed to go upward for several levels.

"You let me worry about that," Orion replied and motioned her toward the ladder. "I need you to go first and take care of the cobwebs for me." He grinned cheekily at her.

"Oh, thanks," she replied dryly, but placed her hands on the cool metal rungs and started climbing anyway. Beneath her, Orion carefully shifted Eli so that she was slung over his right shoulder, then took a deep breath and began his ascent.

Just as Trisana's hands were beginning to ache from gripping the rough steel bars as she climbed, her head brushed a flat metal plate above and she halted, carefully feeling it with her fingers. "I think we're here," she called down.

"Where's here?" Orion replied, his sense of humor apparently still intact even through his injuries and weariness.

"I don't know," Tris grumbled. "Let me see if I can move this thing first." She pressed upward, but the plate didn't budge, so she instinctively reached for the Force to aid her before remembering that she couldn't use it. To her immense surprise, power flowed through her fingertips and forced the plate upward, slipping it to the side and letting a rush of fresh air into the small tunnel. "Orion!!" She yelled excitedly. "I can use the Force!!"

"Great. Now can we get out of here?" Orion grunted.

"Right…" She hastily clambered out of the tunnel and reached down a hand to help him out, then paused to look around. A crowd of people and aliens had started to gather around the entrance to the tunnel, and they stared unabashedly as an extremely grimy Orion emerged, Eli still over his shoulder. He glanced at the crowd, who had begun to whisper among themselves, then back at Tris. "You didn't tell me we had company," he commented dryly.

Tris shoved the metal plate back into place and shrugged. "Better them than the Sith, though. Any idea on what to do now?" The sky overhead was pitch-black and dotted with faint stars, most of them obscured by the city lights, but the area they were in was lit by numerous streetlamps. Tris guessed they were in a somewhat well-to-do sector, going by the fine apparel worn by most of the crowd and their scandalized expressions at the padawans' appearance… although, she noted, those could also be due to the way Orion was waving cheerfully at them. "Cut it out," she muttered, lightly punching his arm.

He winced and made a face at her. "What? Anyway-"

The crowd suddenly parted as three _very_ familiar, robed individuals pushed through: Masters Austrina, Khvee, and Varian, each one wearing varying expressions of surprise, relief, and disapproval. Austrina skidded to a stop and stared wordlessly at them, her silver eyes wide as they traveled over a disheveled Trisana, a blood-covered Orion, and— "Eliatra!" she cried, hurrying forward. Orion hastily swung her off his shoulder and supported her carefully in his arms. "What happened?" Austrina asked worriedly as she laid her hands on Eliatra's cool forehead.

"A Sith hit her with Force lightning. It's a long story," he added as she looked up in surprise. "Can you heal her?"

Austrina nodded. "I think so, but we need to get her out of the cold." Master Varian hurried forward and carefully took the limp padawan from his arms. Orion frowned in worry and brushed her cool hand as the Jedi Master turned away. _She looks so small,_ he thought, wishing he could have done more to help.

Khvee brushed his shoulder as the others started to walk away and the crowd dispersed. "Come on, let's go back to the apartment. You need healing, too," he added in concern.

"Yeah. Let's go home." Orion let out a long sigh and started after them.


	9. Recovery

**A/N**: Orion is my favorite person ever in the entire world... well, the fictional world anyway. XD!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars nor am I making any money off of this.

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**Chapter Nine: Recovery**

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Once the Jedi had arrived back at the apartment, Austrina wasted no time in attending to Eliatra, who was laid out on the couch in the central room for better access by the Masters. Orion and Tris were directed to the other two chairs by Master Khvee, who set about examining Orion's wounds first while Tris and Varian looked on. Master Varian, whose frown hadn't disappeared since the masters had found the padawans, finally spoke, startling Trisana out of a weary stupor. "What were you foolish padawans _thinking,_ running off like that? I don't have any idea what you were doing, but it's not hard to guess that you weren't up to any good, considering your condition."

Austrina paused and looked over her shoulder at him. "Varian! Couldn't you wait a little while before rebuking them? They're exhausted!" She said reprovingly.

Orion sighed and shrugged, then winced; Khvee hadn't yet healed his shoulder. "Master Varian is right," he said wearily. "We _were_ foolish to take off without telling you, and I wish we hadn't gotten as injured as we did. But we wouldn't have gone down there without a good cause."

Trisana glanced sharply at him. She doubted that he would pin the blame on her—though this whole mess _had_ been her fault—but it wasn't like him to be so honest about getting in trouble. Usually, on the rare occasion he was caught, he concocted some lie that was so far from the truth, it never ceased to amaze her that anyone would ever believe it.

"And that good cause would be…?" Varian looked skeptical.

"It's a long story," Orion said. "To make it short, we left the debate for some fresh air, and hadn't been out there for ten minutes when one of us overheard something suspicious. We went to investigate and discovered a Dark Jedi and a bounty hunter Wookiee planning what sounded like an assassination." Trisana let out a quiet sigh of relief. Knowing Varian, he probably would have grounded her for months if he'd known that she was the whole reason for their wild escapade. Orion continued, "We were going to sneak away and tell you about it, but they saw us and attacked. Before we knew what was happening, they had grabbed Trisana and taken off in their speeder, leaving me and Eli behind. At that point, the most important thing to us was saving Tris while the trail was still fresh, so we followed them. After that… it was just a matter of going down to a base in the sewers to find and rescue Tris, then finding our way back out."

"And your injuries?" Khvee asked. "The sewers part explains your filthy appearance—" Tris had to agree with him here; in the full light of the apartment, Orion was covered in grime. "—but you seem to have run into some well-armed opponents." He pulled at one of the black-edged holes in Orion's tunic, obvious evidence of either a blaster or lightsaber hit.

"Er," Orion started. He seemed for a moment to be trying to come up with a feasible explanation to take the place of their encounter with Visiron, Rraarhar, the Sith, and the rest of their many opponents, then he sighed. "Well, I suppose there were a few Sith down there. We killed most of the ones we ran into, though," he added hurriedly when all three masters stopped what they were doing to stare incredulously at him. "What?" he said defensively. "It's true!"

"Do you mean to say," Austrina said slowly, "that the three of you made your way into an undercover Sith base, survived several trained Sith or Dark Jedi, rescued Trisana, and escaped alive? Without any outside help?"

"Well, we're here, aren't we?" Orion said reasonably. He decided it was probably better to leave out the part about Visiron helping them get in and later betraying them; the masters were having a hard enough time wrapping their minds around the whole situation as it was.

Varian looked over at Trisana. "Is this true?"

She nodded hastily. "Every word. I got kidnapped by a couple of S- by some assassins, and Orion and Eli rescued me."

"And the assassins?" Austrina asked.

"They died," Orion said calmly, as though they'd had nothing to do with it.

Varian watched Orion consideringly for a moment, then shook his head and sighed. "I suppose the important thing is that you three are safe… well, you two are, anyway." He glanced back at Eliatra, and Tris felt a twinge of guilt. "How is she?" Varian asked.

Some color had begun to come back into Eli's cheeks, but she still lay very still on the couch, her chest rising and falling in small, measured movements. Austrina gently tucked a wisp of brunette hair behind her ear and looked back at Varian. "Stabilized. She'll come to, I think, but it could be a little while. Right now, I think we all need to get some rest and a turn in the refresher." Her tired eyes twinkled at Orion.

He smiled innocently back at her. "I can't think what you could possibly mean, Master Lelovare."

"I can," Khvee muttered. "You'd better go first, Orion." The nautolan stretched and shooed Orion out of the room, then strode back and took his chair.

There was an awkward silence in the room as the masters fell silent and Trisana struggled against falling asleep. It was so good to be home—well, as close as they could get on this city-planet—and safe from danger. Suddenly a thought occurred to her: she didn't have her lightsaber anymore. Her stomach knotted in worry. Master Varian surely wouldn't approve of this… Trying to keep a calm expression on her face, she slipped her hands inside the deep pockets of Orion's overcloak and felt for the double-bladed saber hilt. Her breath caught as her fingertips brushed against another metal object at the bottom of the pocket, and it definitely wasn't the saberstaff. She slowly wrapped her fingers around it and lifted it out. The familiar coppery design on _her own saber hilt_ glittered in the dim light of the apartment as she held it up before her face, her hands shaking with relief. So Azier hadn't had it, after all! Orion must have picked it up long before then, she realized, then scowled. She'd spent that whole time helplessly watching Eliatra and Orion fight her battles for her, and her saber had been right in her pocket all along.

Varian's voice shook her out of her reverie. "What's the matter, Trisana?"

"Oh… er, nothing," she stuttered as she sighed and clipped her hilt back on her belt where it belonged. Everything was once more as it should be: the three of them together, and safe, and she had her saber back. Feeling suddenly guilty again, she glanced back over at Eliatra. She had been so brave to take such a fierce attack just to save her friends, and _she_—Trisana—had barely done anything.

Austrina seemed to read her thoughts. "Don't worry," she said quietly. "I think she'll be fine. Why don't you go lie down and try to get some rest?"

"I think that suggestion would do well by all of us," Khvee agreed. "Eliatra can stay out here, so that we'll be able to get to her should anything happen."

"Good idea," Austrina said, smothering a yawn as she stood. Tris stood as well and hugged Orion's cloak around herself. _He won't miss it for tonight_, she thought, unable to quite allow herself to part with his garment. The four of them dispersed into the adjoining bedrooms on either side of the common room, and Eliatra's sleeping form was shrouded by darkness, only occasionally illuminated by the brief flash of a passing speeder outside.

Eliatra stirred slightly on the couch and moaned. A dark shape in the chair opposite the couch shifted and a head popped out from beneath the blanket. "Eli?" A whispered voice carried through the darkness.

"Hngh," Eliatra muttered. "Wha… where am… _Sith_spit, that hurt." She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to deal with the pain that had shot through her body as she had tried to roll over. Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes slowly and tried to make them focus. Someone had come over to her side.

"How are you?" A hand lightly touched her cheek and a weight on the cushion next to her suggested that whoever it was had sat down. "Can I get you anything?"

She squinted through the darkness and reached up a hand to grasp the one that had brushed her face. "Orion?" she whispered. "Why is it dark? We're not in the sewers still, are we?" Worry traced her voice.

"No, no," he whispered back and squeezed her hand. "We're safe now. We're okay. Tris and I found the masters… and we're not in too much trouble. I think." Eliatra got the sense that he was grinning impishly.

She relaxed slightly and closed her eyes again in an attempt to ward off the pounding that had begun in her skull, although the feel of her hand enclosed in his was doing quite a bit to distract her from the pain. "And the Sith?" she murmured, recalling with some ruefulness her desperate attack on the Wookiee and her subsequent failure to block Visiron's Force Lightning.

"He's… well, probably not dead, but we put him out of the running for a bit," Orion replied cheerfully, then touched one finger lightly to her lips. "But don't worry about that now… you need to heal. You had me—us—worried for a while, there."

"I should have done better," she whispered. "I've fought better than that before… I shouldn't have let you two down—"

"Eli." He leaned close enough that she could barely feel his breath on her skin. "You did your best, and you _certainly—"_

He was cut off as the right bedroom's light flicked on, flooding the common room with a harsh glow and silhouetting Khvee in the doorway, his sleep robes mussed. "What's going on?" he asked drowsily before his large eyes widened. "Is she awake?"

"Yes," Orion said hastily as he sat up, then glanced down at Eliatra, who was massaging her temple. "Could you turn off the light?"

"Of course." Khvee waved his hand in the general direction of the light panel and the illumination faded, but not before there was a rustling from the other room and Austrina emerged, wrapping a belt around her robes. Both masters hurried toward the couch, where Orion was gingerly standing up. Eliatra blinked at Khvee and Austrina. "Master Austrina," she started worriedly, "the Sith—there's-"

Orion coughed loudly. "You don't have to worry about that right now, Eli…" He widened his deep blue eyes at her in a pleading, don't-say-_anything_ look.

Eliatra, Austrina, and Khvee all looked at Orion suspiciously, Eliatra with an expression of consternation. "What were you going to say, Eliatra?" Khvee asked with a warning glance at Orion.

She looked back at the nautolan Master and bit her lip for a moment, then shook her head. "I'll tell you in the morning. I… I'm tired now."

Austrina sighed and nodded. "It can wait till morning. Would you like to move to your bed, Eliatra?"

Eli shook her head slightly and sank down into the couch cushions. Judging from the way she'd felt just trying to roll over, actually moving to another room seemed out of her means. Every fiber of her muscles burned when she attempted to use them. "No, thanks," she yawned.

"Alright." Austrina leaned over and touched a cool hand to the drowsy padawan's forehead, sending her into a deep slumber. She straightened and turned to Orion, who suddenly struggled to attain an innocent air. "_You_ can go back to bed," she said dryly with a shooing motion toward him. "I'm not going to ask what you were doing out here in the first place."

"I'm her friend," Orion retorted. "I was keeping an eye on her in case she woke up. And she did!"

"Hush," Khvee said. "It's too late for arguing. Come on, Orion."

The three of them turned quietly to leave the common room once more. Orion paused in the doorway of the bedroom to look back at Eliatra, an unreadable expression on his face, then sighed and continued on.

It was midmorning when Eliatra woke again. She lay quietly for a minute with her eyes closed, drowsily contemplating the opaque glow of sunlight through her eyelids, then stretched slightly and let her eyes drift open. The first thing that greeted her sight was Orion, who was slung lazily across one of the apartment's chairs while eating something out of a bowl. He glanced over and waved slightly, a fork between his fingers. "Morning, sunshine," he greeted cheerfully.

"She's up?" Trisana's voice came from somewhere behind the couch out of Eliatra's sight.

"Awake, anyway," Eliatra muttered. Her body still ached, but the pain had decreased to a manageable sort of nagging hurt that was on par with being beaten all over with a wooden rod. It occurred to her that the masters weren't anxiously hovering, and she pulled her blanket away from her shoulders to get a better look around at the room. Tris walked around the side of the couch and collapsed in the other chair with a piece of bread in her hand. "Where is everyone?" Eliatra asked curiously.

Orion, who had just taken a mouthful of food, shrugged. Trisana crossed her arms, looking somewhat disgruntled, and answered. "They left for the last meeting of the debate. Apparently there were some other things to wrap up, but they should be back before nightfall today. They didn't trust us going along, so we're stuck in the apartment for the day."

"'And you foolish padawans had _better_ not go anywhere, or you'll see far worse a punishment than being grounded for a while!'" Orion mimicked Varian's stern voice so perfectly that Eliatra glanced around in alarm for the older Master. He grinned impishly at her. "See what we're reduced to? Practically the saviors of Coruscant, and here we are being called 'foolish padawans.'" He paused thoughtfully, then added, "On the plus side, we _are_ allowed to order in food, which is nearly good enough to amend the fact that we have to stay here all day."

"It would be, for you," Tris said dryly. "Small wonder that Master Khvee warned you not to buy out the local restaurants."

Eliatra chuckled. "She's got a point."

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault they starve me at the Enclave," Orion retorted. "I'm a growing padawan. It's all I can do to keep up enough strength just to get through the day!" He fell back in a mock faint.

"Growing?" Tris snorted. "If you got any taller, you'd put a hole through the ceiling."

He raised an eyebrow at her, his sapphire eyes twinkling mischievously. "And if you got any shorter, you'd be microscopic."

"Hey!"

"Alright," Eliatra was unable to hold back her laughter. The two friends had an affinity for bickering, but Tris could have a surprising amount of animosity when it came to her petite height. "Could one of you two grab me something to eat? Assuming Orion's left anything, that is."

"I will." Tris stood, flipped her long, flaxen hair over her shoulder with a defiant look at Orion, and walked over to the small table in the corner, on which was assembled a mess of bags and boxes. "What'll it be? Orion ate all of the nerf bacon-"

"Did not!" he interjected.

"—but there are some good butter biscuits left."

"I'll have one of those," Eliatra yawned and propped herself up on her elbow, then gave Orion a curious look. "So what was last night all about?"

"Last night?" Trisana asked, handing a biscuit to Eli and returning to her seat.

"Last night?" Orion echoed, somehow managing to look both blank and innocent.

"Yeah." She bit into the roll and was pleased to discover that it tasted better than most of the bread she'd had at the Enclave. "You know. 'You don't have to worry about that right now, Eli.' I wasn't the only one that knew something was up."

Orion coughed in embarrassment. "I didn't want you saying anything that wouldn't, er, match up with Tris's and my stories."

Eliatra widened her eyes at him. "And what could you two have said that wouldn't 'match up' with my own account?"

"Oh," he said hurriedly, "It's just that we eh, didn't really mention the Sith. That much."

"He practically omitted them," Tris said dryly. "And he skipped the part where we took down about twenty Sith and other thugs."

"And the falling elevator," Orion added. "Falling elevators are never a good thing to have in your known history. Makes people think you're risky."

"I wonder why," Eliatra said sarcastically. "Why didn't you tell them everything? Shouldn't they _know_ there are… well, Dark Force-users on Coruscant?"

"Would they believe us if we did?" he replied. "There's no way, in their opinion, that a bunch of padawans could survive something like that. They'd think we were making it all up."

"And this?" Eliatra retorted, motioning at herself. "How could a figment of the imagination knock me out and wound you two? You must have sustained _some_ injury, unless you expect me to believe that you found a healer first, before going back to the masters."

Tris shrugged. "It was late, and everyone was tired. Orion gave them the short version of what happened and it was enough, at least for now. Look, Eli, at least this way it's a little more flexible, and we can decide together on what to tell them if they ask us for the whole story."

"She's right," Orion said when Eliatra remained silent. "If we're lucky, they'll be so occupied with the debate that they won't think to ask us more about it. There are more important things to worry about than us getting into trouble."

Eliatra bit her lip, unconvinced. "I still think we should tell them. This is important… Sith don't pop up just anywhere. The masters should know about it, if not the Council, as well."

Tris groaned and flopped back over the arm of her chair. "Master Varian will ground me for life. I will be the Order's oldest padawan ever."

"Don't be silly," Eliatra snapped. "You were only trying to protect the innocent. You couldn't help getting kidnapped in the bargain… I'm sure the masters will understand that."

"'Protecting the innocent'? Don't you mean 'sticking your nose where it doesn't belong'?" Orion snickered.

"Shut up," Tris said pointedly.

"Stop it," Eliatra said in irritation. "Now, are we going to tell the masters about this, or not?"

"Do we have a choice?" Orion said archly. "Really, Eli, I don't think it's that big of a deal. Sure, we ran into a few lightsaber-wielding bad guys, but…" he spread his hands and shrugged. "It would be easier altogether to just put this whole thing aside. I have a feeling that that organization—whatever it was—is too widespread to be taken care of by a Jedi task force. Everyone is better off not knowing about it."

"Orion, I do believe that's the most intelligent thing I've heard you say all day," Trisana remarked.

"I know," he said without a trace of modesty. "I spent a lot of brain cells on that one." He grinned over at her.

Eliatra scowled and rubbed her forehead. "You two just don't get it, do you? These have to be _Sith._ We learned about them in our Archives history class, and they told us enough for me to know that they don't just…just… come from nowhere! They _mean_ something! We should… augh!" She flopped back down on the couch and pulled her blanket over her head.

"Eli?" Orion asked, watching the lump under the blanket curiously.

One of her hands emerged to wave him off. "Just forget it," she muttered, her voice muffled by the cloth. "I'll tell Master Austrina and see what she thinks, since you two won't _listen._"

Tris shrugged and went to get another biscuit. "Suit yourself. Just try not to get me grounded, okay? That's the last thing I need right now."

Eliatra heaved a sigh and closed her eyes as she tried to tune out her friends' banter. Perhaps, soon, everything would be sorted out…


	10. Consequences

**A/N: **I don't own Star Wars, sadly enough. You guys know the drill. Read, review, rinse and repeat. Anyone who reviews is my friend forever and ever... -grins-

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**Chapter Ten: Consequences **

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"Is that everything?" Master Austrina rubbed her hands together and critically eyed the small pile of luggage in the Jedi freighter's cargo hold. It was the day after the padawans' return to safety, and now that the Jedi's part in the debate over the attacks on the Outer Rim was done, they were free to leave for Dantooine. Austrina, for one, was more than happy to leave, especially after the harrowing experience of nearly losing the padawans.

"I think so. The apartment is cleared out." Khvee came up behind her in his usual silent way, and smiled wryly when she turned to look at him. "Orion, Eliatra, and Trisana are in the bunkroom. I just checked."

She shook her head ruefully. "I wouldn't put it past them to try to stay behind now… I'm not going to feel safe until we're in space and those three are still present and accounted for. Varian isn't on board yet, is he?"

Khvee shook his own head, looking faintly annoyed for a moment. "No. He's back in the hangar control center, speaking with Senator Artillhan."

"The insistent one with the lisp from Yl'sran?"

"That's the one. From what I gathered before I left them, the Senator thought that he would have a better chance at gaining permission to colonize Frasdel if he could get in Varian's good graces, and from thence the Senate's."

Austrina tisked admonishingly. "He should have known that Varian hates being bothered with political matters. It was a wonder that he agreed to even do this. I remember when he declined becoming a member of the Grand Council here on Coruscant…"

Orion silently crept away from the alcove where he had been listening to the masters' conversation, and made his way back to the bunkroom undetected. "Is Master Varian back yet?" Tris asked anxiously the moment he opened the door.

The lanky padawan slipped into the bunkroom and shut the door behind him, then shook his head, causing Trisana to sink back against the side of a bunk in relief. Orion glanced over at Eli, who was watching him with an unreadable look. Ever since their conversation the previous day, she had remained silent on her opinion of their escapade, and that silence was beginning to make him nervous. "It was just Austrina and Khvee," he said, shrugging. "They said Master Varian was talking to some senator."

Trisana raised her head, her pale blue eyes wide. "They didn't say anything about me?" she asked worriedly.

"Don't be so self-absorbed," Eliatra snapped suddenly, startling both of them. "There are more important things for them to worry about than us going off and making mischief."

"So you're not going to tell Master Austrina about it?" Tris snapped back, her eyes narrowed slightly. "After all of your speeches about it being _important_ that they know? Now you're saying that they don't care?"

"That's not what I said," Eliatra retorted, unaware that Orion was watching her with an expression of something akin to amazement. "I _said_ that they have more important things to worry about than us being _stupid_ and getting _captured_, as long as we came out of it alive. What they _do_ need to know about is the _Sith base_ in the undercity of Coruscant!"

Orion looked amused. "She does have a point, Trissy."

"Oh—you--!" Tris stood, her fists clenched and her eyes flashing a near-silver color, a sure sign that she was upset. "You think you're so _special_, the Jedi's little pet, always the best at everything! Can't you just forget about being _perfect_ for one minute and be a real _person_ for once?!" She spun on her heel, shoved Orion aside, and strode out the door, slamming it shut behind her and leaving the other two staring after her.

Orion glanced back at Eliatra. "Well? Are you going to go after her?"

She shook her head and crossed her arms resolutely. "No. She needs to grow up sometime and realize that the galaxy doesn't revolve around her. The Masters need to know about the Sith, and her temper tantrums aren't going to stop me." She looked worried in spite of herself though, and bit her lip as she leaned against the wall. "I just wish…"

"Wish what?" He watched her curiously.

She sighed and raised her dark gaze to his as he slowly took a few steps toward her, his own arms crossed. "I wish she wasn't so temperamental. I know Master Varian's been trying to teach her patience, but… she's so hasty to judge, to make decisions. She never thinks things through, like this whole disaster with the assassins. I just worry that… that something will happen to her, something out of her control, and we won't be there to help her. We won't always be able to."

"Oh, Eli." He took a step forward and drew her into his arms, hugging her tightly as she sagged against his chest. "We'll do what we can. I'm sure she'll come around soon… she's just worried about what Master Varian will say when things clear up. Let's face it, I would be too," he said wryly.

"No, you wouldn't," she replied, her voice muffled against his robes. "You would have annoyed him so much within the first two weeks of being his padawan that he would have passed you off to another Master." She couldn't help noticing the near-perfect fit of her head under his chin, which was lightly resting on it.

He laid his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away, catching her eyes with a mockingly stern look. "Now, Eliatra. I'm not that bad. He wouldn't be annoyed… just… " He trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"Suspicious of who was playing pranks on him constantly?" She supplied mischievously.

He grinned back at her. "Probably. Now come on, let's see if the masters are ready to leave yet."

----------

Soaring through the infinite reaches of hyperspace, inside the small Jedi freighter all was silent, save for the steady _click, click, click_ of Master Varian's boot heels as he slowly paced before the three padawans. Eliatra, Trisana, and Orion stood at nervous attention beside each other in the small, central meeting area of the ship, and while Khvee and Austrina stood to the side of the room, all eyes were fixed on the commanding Jedi Master. His piercing, gray-blue gaze moved over the three of them like a hawk over its prey, and he finally came to a stop before them, the silence deafening as his movement ceased. "Well?" he said at last, his voice sharp with disapproval. "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Trisana swallowed and shot a look at Eliatra, who was staring calmly forward toward Varian. She looked back at her master, took a deep breath, and stuttered, "I-it was my fault, M-Master Varian. Orion—well, I mean, Eli—"

"And leaving the debate?" Varian snapped, interrupting her. "Was that all your fault, as well?"

"No, sir," Orion said, meeting the Master's gaze with his own. "We all decided to leave. It was only going to be for a short while, and then we would come back to the debate."

"And you, Eliatra? I suppose you helped to hatch this plan?" Varian said sharply.

Eliatra opened her mouth to reply, but Orion beat her to it. "Master Varian, Eli didn't want to go along with it, at first. Me and Tris convinced her to come with us."

"And look what happened to her for it." Varian motioned at the still-healing bruises visible on Eliatra's neck. She bit her lip. "I suppose you're proud of what you did, even at that cost? She could have been killed. All of you could have. You three should thank the Force that you escaped with your lives. The fact that you did shows a measure of competence in yourselves and your masters, but the fact that you three even got into the mess only goes to show just how much you still lack in skill. Our trust has been severely undercut by this drastic display of dishonesty. Eliatra, I expected more of you. One of the Academy's brightest padawans, and now this! Orion, your master has given me glowing praise of your abilities, and despite your…checkered past, I had hoped for better things from you. And Trisana. You know _exactly_ what we have been working on. You know your flaws, and you know what to do in order to improve on them. I placed my trust in you for this visit, after Corellia, hoping that you had learned from your previous errors. I see I was sadly mistaken. You three have disgraced the Order with your actions and caused us to doubt your capacity for Knighthood, especially in light of the recent events affecting both the Jedi and the Republic. If this kind of immature, irrational behavior continues, it may permanently jeopardize your chances at becoming a part of the Jedi Order. If you wish to be a Jedi, you must act like one, and so far your actions have not attained that position at all. As your masters, and therefore responsible for you, we are deeply ashamed. Orion! What are you doing?" He glared at the tallest padawan.

Orion blinked. "Me? I, uh, nothing, sir." Eliatra stifled a snort and hastily smoothed her expression. She knew, of course, exactly what Orion had been doing: mimicking Varian's predictable facial expressions during his lecture.

Varian fastened them all with an angry stare, then straightened, his hands behind his back. Trisana flinched in anticipation. "Well? I don't suppose you all are just going to stand there?"

There was a pause, then Eliatra cleared her throat. Orion watched her apprehensively. "Master Varian-"

"Yes?" He watched her expectantly, his brow still creased in a frown.

"There was something I wanted to tell you. I was going to, sooner than this, but I never got the chance. While we were down there—" She paused to take a breath, hoping her trembling hands, clenched behind her back, wouldn't give away her nervousness. Would the Masters believe her account of their venture? "We went down to rescue Tris," she continued, "and as we were trying to follow them—her captors, I mean—we ran into a man. He offered to take us to where she was. He said he knew who had taken her, and he wanted to go after them as well, though for different reasons. We were at our wit's end… we couldn't see a better route to Tris. So we trusted him. He took us down to the undercity of Coruscant, to a base past the sewers… I couldn't tell you where it was now, our path changed so much. When we eventually wound up in the building where she was, he left us, and said that we were on our own. Orion and I—" She glanced over at him, half-smiling, and he smiled back, instilling courage in her. "—worked together to find Trisana and take care of what guards there were so that we could rescue her. That was when the trouble started."

In spite of himself, Varian looked intrigued, as did Khvee and Austrina. "What do you mean by trouble?" Khvee asked when Eliatra paused.

Orion laid a light hand on Eliatra's shoulder and spoke up, surprising her. "She had just gotten to Tris's cell and freed her when someone—I guess a Dark Jedi, or a Sith, since he had a red lightsaber—" This raised a collective gasp from the three masters, but Orion continued. "—showed up at the cell door and threatened Eli and Tris. Fortunately, after cutting the power to the cell bloc, I went back to check on Eli, and managed to distract him long enough for Eli and Tris to help me cut him down. After that we just tried to escape as quickly as possible, and ended up running into several more Sith."

"Including the man who had led us to the base in the first place. He told us that his name was Visiron, but the Wookiee and the other Sith that were with him referred to him as Lord Erebin." Eliatra finished.

There was a stunned silence in the ship, as even Varian didn't seem to know what to say. "How did you escape Erebin?" Austrina finally asked, her silver eyes wide.

This time Tris took a step forward. "Since I, um, didn't know where my lightsaber was at the time, Eli and Orion told me to try to find a way out while they took care of the Sith, or whatever they were. Eli got knocked unconscious when Erebin hit her with lightning from behind while she tried to attack the Wookiee that grabbed me in the first place, back on the surface. By then I had figured out the elevator that was just around the corner, so I threw a grenade to keep Erebin from killing Eli so that Orion could grab her and we could get out. After that, we just had to find our way through the sewers and back to the surface… where you found us."

All three masters stared at the padawans a moment, then at each other. Even the normally unflappable Khvee seemed bewildered. "I think we need to discuss this further in private," Austrina said finally, motioning to the other two masters as she strode toward the doorway that led to the left side of the ship. Khvee paused before walking down the hall to fix Orion with a stern glare. "And _no_ eavesdropping," he warned, then continued on, leaving the three padawans in solitude.

Eliatra crossed her arms and leaned back against the central projector console, an exhausted look on her face. "Well-"

Tris narrowed her eyes at her. "Don't even _think_ about saying it," she interrupted angrily.

"Saying what?" Eliatra's voice, though calmer than Trisana's, was tight with annoyance.

"'I told you so,'" Orion interjected with a warning look at Trisana. "Come on, girls, we don't need to give them another reason to punish us. Let's at least wait until we get back to Dantooine and it's easier to catch a flight off-planet." He flashed a teasing grin at them.

Eli nodded with a relieved glance at Orion. "All I was going to say," she said, eyeing Tris warily, "was that they seemed to believe us. I don't know who that Lord Erebin was, but the name seemed to mean something to them."

"Mean something?" Orion smirked. "I thought Master Austrina's eyebrows were going to shoot through the ceiling, she had them raised so high."

"Even Master Varian seemed startled," Eliatra agreed thoughtfully.

Trisana looked dubious. "How are they to know we didn't just overhear Erebin's name on the street and made it all up? After running away like that, why would they trust our word at all? You heard my master. 'Our trust has been severely undercut by this drastic display of dishonesty.' They're going to think we're just trying to get out of trouble."

Eli rolled her eyes. "Tris, who would willingly inflict the kind of injuries that we had on themselves just to get out of a few weeks' punishment? I was _unconscious_. Remember? And I'm sure you and Orion weren't looking so good by the time you got back to the surface, either."

"Well," Orion amended, "_Tris_ wasn't looking so good. I'm sure I was still my usual handsome self." He grinned impishly and tugged Tris's long braid when she opened her mouth in protest at his comment. "Kidding, Trissy."

She scowled at him and fingered her braid. "I still doubt they'll believe our story. I mean, really. Don't you think any _other_ padawans would have gotten killed if they'd tried to go through what we did? Sith and lightsabers and Wookiees… I'm amazed _we_ got through it."

"That's just it, though," Eliatra mused quietly. She looked up at them both, her dark eyes wide. "We're not just any padawans. We're… _us_."

Orion grinned and struck a valiant pose, his hand to his chest and his face upturned to an absent sun. "We are the illustrious Orion Rivalen, the beautiful yet deadly Eliatra Sabre, the fearless Trisana Kor-"

Eli smacked his arm and tried to hold back a laugh. "You know what I mean. At the risk of sounding pretentious, we _are_ some of the best students at the Academy. We may not have been trained for something like what we went through, but we survived it—something that many of the other padawans may not have been able to do."

"Accurate as always, my lady," Orion said with a swooping bow to Eli.

Tris sighed. "Maybe you're right. I guess they did seem like they believed us, or else they wouldn't have left us like that."

"Atta girl," Orion beamed and winked at Eli. "I knew she'd come around eventually."

The sound of footsteps approaching them from the other side of the ship alerted them to their masters' presence and quickly silenced the three padawans. They hastily stood to attention as Varian, closely followed by Khvee and Austrina, entered the room. "Your masters and I have deliberated on the matter of your incident," Varian stated as he halted in front of them, his face unreadable. "and we have decided to leave the issue to the Dantooine Jedi Council for further discussion. You three will meet with them for further explanation of your experience, and they will decide on the retribution, if any, that you will serve. For the moment, you are excused of any punishment."

Eliatra could almost feel Trisana's relief at the statement, and even Orion seemed relieved. Realizing that Varian was waiting for a reply, she bowed to him, quickly followed by Tris and Orion. "Thank you, Master," she said quietly.

Varian gave them a curt nod and strode out of the cabin toward the cockpit, leaving them with Khvee and Austrina. Khvee waved his hands at them when they continued to stand uncertainly. "You heard the man. Go find something to do. We won't be reaching Dantooine for some time." Orion nodded and immediately made a break for the door, trailed closely by Tris and Eli.

The three collapsed in the bunkroom. "Now what?" Tris asked, delicately seating herself cross-legged on one narrow bunk.

"Now, we wait," Orion yawned. "Since that's over, I'm going to take advantage of the down time and take a nap." He stretched out on a cot, his lanky frame barely fitting the cramped space, and shut his eyes peacefully.

"In here? This is our bunkroom!" Eli grinned and threw the pillow on her bunk at his head.

His hand shot out and expertly snatched the pillow out of the air while his eyes were still closed. He lifted his head and grinned cheekily at her. "So? You're not sleeping here right now, are you?"

Eliatra started to reply but suddenly ducked as a pillow thrown from Tris's direction almost hit her head. "He carried you all the way up from the sewers, Eli, let him get his beauty rest!" Tris laughed.

Eli grabbed the pillow that had almost hit her and started to smile slowly. "Beauty rest? Now? Why not have a _pillow fight_!!" She hurled her pillow at Trisana while snatching two more with the Force and flinging them at Orion. It wasn't long before stuffing and laughter filled the air, completely erasing all thoughts of rest or troubles from their minds.


	11. Arrival

**A/N:** I don't own Star Wars or Kotor or anything. -tear- Reviews make me happy... so very happy...

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**Chapter Eleven: Arrival**

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A balmy breeze carrying the scent of damp earth and sun-warmed grass from the plains hit Eliatra as she stepped down the boarding ramp of the Jedi freighter onto Dantooine's surface, and she lifted her face to embrace the familiar fragrance. Enormous, brooding storm clouds filled the usually tranquil evening sky and flickered distantly with contained lightning. Orion brushed her shoulder lightly as he stepped off the ramp just behind her. "Looks like it's going to rain. We'd better hurry in before we get soaked," he muttered, pulling his robe around his chest.

Eliatra nodded slightly and continued forward after their masters, who had begun to walk swiftly toward the nearby Jedi enclave. "It's good to be home," she murmured, smiling a little as the wind whipped her hair around her face. Coruscant had been exciting—to say the least—but nothing quite compared with the inner peace she felt at the Jedi Enclave here on Dantooine. It had been her home for as long as she could remember, and she knew its rooms, corners, and secrets as well as the design of her own lightsaber.

Trisana fell in step beside her and sighed. "What do you think the Council will say?" she asked quietly, glancing over at Eli anxiously.

Eli shrugged. "Whatever it is, I doubt we'll be punished very severely. Somehow, it seems to me that the discovery of an underground base run by Sith overshadows the fact that we ran off for a day."

Orion, on her other side, grinned over at Tris. "Although I'm sure Master Varian could talk them into making you do something in atonement, like polishing all the Academy speeders after the Khoonda Mud Flats Race."

Tris scowled back at him. "That's _not_ funny. Last year there was so much mud out there that Kiram was spitting out dirt for weeks, and he didn't get nearly as grimy as some of the other riders."

Orion smirked back at her. "And I hear it's supposed to rain pretty hard before the race this year. You'd better hope that idea doesn't occur to him. Hey!" He hurriedly stepped sideways as Eli poked him in the ribs, then swerved to avoid running into the wall as they approached the main doors, but in doing so tripped over a large potted plant. Eli and Tris both broke out in helpless laughter as his arms windmilled frantically for a moment before he toppled over into the pot. "Thanks a lot, Eli," he said dryly as he pulled himself to his feet and brushed soil from his robes, then glanced back at the now pathetically crushed plant. "Where did that thing come from, anyway?"

"What are you three doing? Come on, we need to get inside," Austrina called from the open doorway. The other two masters were nowhere in sight.

"Coming!" Eli grabbed Orion's arm and pulled him after Tris, who had sprinted ahead at Austrina's voice. The three darted inside the wide doors just before they shut, leaving them in the suddenly quiet stillness of the entrance corridor. Austrina was already disappearing around the corner ahead, and after glancing at each other, the padawans started forward. "I wonder where everyone's at?" Eliatra murmured aloud as they passed through an empty courtyard.

"Probably dinner," Orion replied, then blushed as his stomach growled loudly. "Do you s'pose we missed dessert?"

"Orion," Tris rolled her eyes. "Can't you think about _anything_ besides food?"

"What? I haven't eaten since that dried…stuff on the ship."

"It was bread," Eliatra interjected, trying unsuccessfully to hold back a grin as she knew what his reply would be.

He didn't disappoint her. "_Bread_?!" He asked in indignation, staring at her wide-eyed. "You call that stuff bread? That," he stopped in his tracks and pointed at her in mock horror. "_that_ was a disgrace to all baked goods everywhere! How _dare_ you even _suggest_ it was anything like bread! It was more like porous rocks!"

Tris snorted. "Well, it was still better than your last attempt at cooking. Calling that rock would be a disgrace to stones everywhere."

He shot her an injured look as they started walking again. "Hey, everyone's gotta start somewhere, right? Besides, I don't see _you_ making any delicious foods." They paused at a split in the hallway that led to the dorms, and Orion started walking down the left corridor. "I'm gonna put my robe in my room and hit the dining hall. See you girls later." He winked at them and started off at a jaunty walk, while Eli and Tris started walking right toward the girls' dorms.

"I can't believe we're back home again," Tris sighed. "Back there on Coruscant… I… I wasn't sure if I would make it. Eli, I… I'm sorry for everything I said. I didn't mean it. I was just tired and… well, you know."

"It's okay," Eliatra said softly, hugging Tris around her shoulders. "That's what friends are for. It's not like we would just leave you down there, and I know you would do the same for me. We were willing to risk everything to find you again, even though it meant leaving the masters behind so we could follow you in time."

"Thank you. I know I can't say that enough." Tris half-smiled up at Eli and stopped at her dorm door. "I think I'm just going to go to sleep. Master Varian said the Council wouldn't see us until tomorrow at the earliest, so… I figure I might as well rest up."

"Good idea. Sleep well, Tris." Eli smiled back at her and continued slowly down the hall toward her own room, thoughts turning restlessly through her mind. Who was Erebin? What had they unwittingly stumbled upon in Coruscant's undercity? And Orion… the memory of his face close to hers in the moonlit apartment on Coruscant flashed through her mind so vividly she could almost feel his breath again. What _had_ that been about? Nothing, it seemed, could explain why her stomach turned in a strange mixture of fear and thrill at the thought. Then again, she reminded herself, Orion was prone to bouts of randomness, and even she doubted she knew what was going through his head most of the time. She arrived at her dorm room—she and Tris had had separate rooms since they had become apprenticed to Masters—and opened the door to stare wearily at her room before taking a few steps inside. Everything was as she had left it, which was a comfort since the trauma of their adventure. Sighing, she pulled off her rumpled tunic and threw it in the clothes hamper, then flung herself backwards onto her bunk and shut her eyes.

----------

"Eli! _No_!" Orion froze in his footsteps, his hands clutched tightly around his saber hilt. The blue light flickered dimly over Lord Erebin's face, but it was not his malevolently leering, scarred face that had the padawan's attention: it was his long, bony fingers digging into Eliatra's throat just beneath her jaw to the point that blood welled from her skin at the tips of his nails, and the tarnished silver blade that rested beside her pulsing jugular vein. Her dark eyes pleaded silently with Orion to free her as she quietly panted for breath, exhaustion evident in her haggard features. A tiny rivulet of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and dripped onto her snow-white undertunic.

"Take another step, and she dies, boy," Erebin snarled, his eyes darkened slits in the valleys of his face.

"Let her go," Orion growled back, tightening his grip and shifting forward. "Harm her, and I'll kill you!"

The blade suddenly pressed against Eliatra's throat, a tiny line of blood appearing along the edge as she winced and shut her eyes. _Do something,_ came her voice inside his head. Erebin smiled as he tightened his grip. "I tire of waiting, child. Drop your weapon, _now_."

His eyes flicked to Eliatra, catching her desperate, fearful gaze. Anger and resolve suddenly flooded his senses. "Never!" he shouted, lunging forward, blade outstretched.

"Too late," Erebin hissed, and smiled. Orion launched himself through the air toward the Sith, but it was too far, too late, he realized, as the blade twisted and buried itself with a flash into her neck…

"_Eli!!"_ Orion jerked upright in bed, panting and drenched in ice-cold sweat. His heart hammered loudly in the dim quiet of his dorm, and he shut his eyes, attempting to control his breathing. "She's alright," he whispered, rubbing his face. "We're safe now…we're back at the academy. It was just a dream." But the nightmare had been far too realistic to dismiss so easily, and images of Eliatra's bloodied face remained imprinted on his mind as he tried to lay down and go back to sleep. Restless and anxious, he rose quietly again and padded out of his room and down the hall. The polished stone tiles underfoot were cool and reassuringly familiar, their firmness restoring his confidence with every step. Before long he had arrived at a familiar door in the girls' corridor, and it didn't take him long to bypass the simple lock on it. The door slid open to reveal a moonlit room, its contents barely visible in the gloom, but Orion's gaze went immediately to the single bunk on the left side. A barely-moving lump beneath the covers assured him of a presence, but he tiptoed over anyway and gently pulled back the edge of the blanket. Eliatra's peacefully sleeping face appeared, her dark lashes shadowing her cheeks and her lips barely parted in slumber. She sighed, still asleep, and reached to pull the blanket back over her face, her fingers brushing Orion's as she pulled it from his grasp and snuggled beneath the covers once more. He smiled gently down at her and turned to go, set at ease by her tranquility. No matter what happened in the coming days, he reflected as he crept back along the corridor to his own room, nothing could be worse than the fate they had barely escaped on Coruscant. Here in the halls of the Jedi, they were truly safe.

----------

The dining hall was alive with laughter and talk the next morning as the three padawans walked in for breakfast, but it rapidly died out as the occupants, various padawans, masters, and young Knights, turned to look at them. "News travels fast," Eliatra murmured. Orion grinned and waved at everyone as though he was on parade, and started toward a mostly empty table in the back of the hall. Conversations resumed again as they took their seats, though Eliatra was sure she heard her, Tris's, and Orion's names as they passed by the Jedi.

"It's nice to be a celebrity," Orion remarked while reaching over Tris's plate for biscuits and berry jam. "How long do you s'pose it'll be before they all think we defeated the entire criminal system on Coruscant?"

"Not long at all, if you have anything to do with it," Eliatra replied, rolling her eyes as she dug into a plate of flatcakes. Spending the night in her own bed had done wonders for her appetite and her mood, allowing her to put aside her apprehension about the Council meeting and focus on the present. "I expect you'll be the first to misinform them."

"Hey, we _did_ kill a few Dark Jedi," Trisana interjected. "And I managed to do it without a lightsaber, too!"

"At the cost of your Force powers," Orion said wryly. He threw up his hands when Tris shot him a cross look. "Just stating the facts, Trissy!"

"What do you think we'll be doing, now that we're back at the Enclave again?" Eli asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Being set to menial labor?" Orion suggested. "Or… praised and celebrated for our work in bringing down the most infamous assassins on Coruscant, and then envied by the entire Enclave when we go down in history as the youngest padawans ever Knighted?"

"I'll take the latter," Tris said with a grin.

"I somehow doubt you'll remember to include the part where our bringing down the 'assassins' was a complete accident," Eli remarked.

"No, it wasn't. We had a purpose: to find Trissy, remember? Those guys with the lightsabers were just in the way." Orion grinned at her and suddenly jumped, startled, as a web-fingered green hand touched his shoulder. He choked and went into a spasmodic coughing fit, thumping his chest vigorously while Eliatra and Tris watched in mild alarm. Behind him, Master Khvee waited patiently for the coughing to subside. When it did, Orion turned to look up at his master with a weak smile. "Sorry about that," he said hoarsely.

Khvee shook his head, his head tendrils swaying gently with the motion. "The Council will see you three in two hours," he said in his usual unfazed way, and fixed Orion with a stern look. "Don't be late."

They watched him turn and walk away to the masters' tables before looking back at each other. "So soon?" Tris asked with wide eyes.

"They're probably finishing conferring about the debate now," Eli mused. "Unless there's more pressing business with the other Jedi or the settlers, our news is the most important right now." She pushed away her plate, the knot of worry suddenly appearing in her stomach again. Speaking to the masters she was most familiar with was one thing, but the Khoonda Enclave Council? That was another matter entirely.

Orion wasted no time in retrieving the half-eaten biscuit from her plate and taking a huge bite of it. "Don't worry," he said casually, his voice muffled by the mouthful of biscuit. "The worst they could do is ground us to Dantooine, and even then I'm sure we could hijack a freighter if we wanted to. They can't be _that_ much more difficult than driving a speeder, right?"

"You've never driven a speeder before," Tris said, raising an eyebrow when Eliatra snorted in dissent.

He puffed out his chest. "Actually, I have," he said proudly, grinning as Eli dropped her face into her hands. "Back on Coruscant. Eli can testify to my unnatural skills."

"If by 'unnatural' you mean 'unnaturally bad,'" Eli groaned. "You were almost the death of us!"

"But we lived," Orion pointed out. "I think that, at least, should give some merit to my skills."

"Not when your passenger is terrified out of her wits," Eli retorted.

"You were?" He smirked at her. "Funny, I couldn't tell. I thought all that screaming meant you were enjoying it!"

Eliatra rolled her eyes and stood. "I don't know what to do about you sometimes, 'Rion," she said, shaking her head. "I'm going to go meditate for a while. I'll see you at the Council chamber later." She walked slowly out of the dining hall, trying to clear her mind. The chatter of talk and clink of dishes being cleared from tables receded behind her as she strode along the corridors, unsure where she was bound. Her feet eventually carried her to one of the secluded courtyards within the Enclave, a four-way intersection of corridors that opened to the deep blue sky above and was centrally dominated by an ancient bantai tree like the ones that dotted the Khoonda plains. She seated herself on the stone bench that circled the tree and closed her eyes, willing the dew-fresh morning air to fill her body with every breath and settle her chaotic thoughts.

Two hours later, a composed Eliatra and anxious Tris were assembled outside the massive bantai-wood doors of the Council chamber, waiting for Orion. Eliatra looked around the corner down the hallway for what felt like the thousandth time. "We should go in," Tris muttered, crossing her arms. "He's _always_ late."

Eliatra bit her lip. "One more minute." She shut her eyes and sighed. _Orion Rivalen, where _are_ you?_

The sudden pounding of boots on the floor caught their attention, and Eli and Tris looked around the corner again only to jump back as Orion skidded to a halt. "I'm here," he panted. His hair looked like he'd made a half-hearted attempt to comb it, but it wasn't much less unruly than it usually was. Eli stretched up and brushed a few long strands out of his eyes with a half-smile. "Thanks," he said quietly. "Ready?"

"We've _been_ ready," Tris said, smoothing her tunic and tugging at her padawan braid. "Let's-"

The door suddenly swung open with a faint creak, revealing Master Varian, who looked as imposing as ever. "Are you three ready?" he asked. Eliatra could see several other masters inside the chamber beyond Varian.

"Yes," they chorused at once, then glanced at each other with nervous laughter.

Varian, unamused, turned on his heel and started walking back to the center of the chamber. "Then enter. It is time."


	12. Answers

**A/N:** Nope, still don't own Star Wars. If you like this, even a little bit, please review!!

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**Chapter Twelve: Answers**

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Eliatra, Orion, and Trisana halted in the center of the open-air Council chamber and bowed deeply before the Masters assembled there: Master Zhar Lestin, a long-time part of the Council here on Khoonda who had been a participant in Eliatra's training since her childhood; Master F'Ladgen, the efficient and methodical old Bothan who had been the Head of the Council for as long as anyone could remember; Master Vrook Lamar, the usually irritable Weapons Master; Master Dorak, the dark-skinned and emerald-eyed Chronicler of the Enclave; Master Varian Kurtmar, his stern eyes never leaving them; Master Austrina Lelovare, who looked almost as tired as she had seemed when they had arrived the previous evening; and Master Khvee Niltrei, his face set in an unreadable expression and his hands folded neatly inside his wide robe sleeves. 

Master F'Ladgen cleared his throat and looked at each one of them in turn for a long moment. Eliatra stood a little taller and tried not to flinch beneath his scrutiny, wondering why all masters seemed to enjoy dragging out punishments. The Bothan stroked his graying cheek-hair and finally spoke, his voice thoughtful. "I am somewhat pleased to inform you three that, in the course of your misbehavior on Coruscant and its consequences, you have diverted an even greater catastrophe." He paused a moment to let this sink in, then continued. "Republic Special Forces agents and a few other Jedi who had attended the debate searched the area where you returned to Coruscant's upper levels and the surrounding vicinity, and stumbled upon a temporary headquarters of one Darth Erebin, the fallen Jedi formerly known as Ters'lon Visiri. They also discovered that the base had housed an organization of highly illegal bounty hunters, the Kharryaksri. While the base was empty by the time the Republic arrived, they did discover several injured individuals and nearly fifty more slain—mostly guards, but a few of apparently higher status. Three carried lightsabers. We were told that a datapad found on the body of one had information regarding a bounty on the head of Queen Arabella Windwaker of Alderaan for a handsome price, which would be paid by Lord Erebin. The Queen was present at the debate during this time with few bodyguards; she never would have known what was coming. Now that you three know this, perhaps you can explain for yourselves what you had to do with the situation?"

"We had no idea what we were getting into, Master," Eliatra started, trying to remember if they had really killed so many guards. How far had they gone while she was unconscious?

"But it all makes sense, now," Tris said, her eyes growing wide. "When we first left the debate, I followed a man who met with a Wookiee, and they mentioned killing someone—I think they said 'her'—who they would get more money for than the Chancellor made in a standard year. That's when they found me and kidnapped me."

Orion nodded. "And when we were with Visiron—I mean Erebin—he mentioned Queen Arabella's name, once. It seemed odd at the time."

"But why would Lord Erebin have left you two alive?" Vrook demanded. "Why didn't he just kill you then?"

"I… I think he meant to turn us," Eliatra said uncertainly. "We were stupid to trust him at first, but we were desperate to find Tris. I don't know why, but he kept up the guise until he left us inside the base to find Tris on our own. We didn't see him again until we were almost out, and he was with another Dark Jedi and the Wookiee. I doubt he expected us to even find Tris."

"And you?" F'Ladgen asked, looking inquiringly at Tris. "You said that you were the first to be captured. Did they know you were a Jedi as well? What of your lightsaber?"

"Well," Tris started, "The Wookiee and the assassin who first captured me knew I was a Jedi because I—" she paused, embarrassed, "I tried to fight them with my lightsaber. They knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up in a Force-cage in the base, I thought they'd taken it."

"You didn't," Orion said, blinking. "I picked it up after they carried you away. You must have dropped it after the fight."

"I found it in your robe pocket later," Tris concluded, then looked back at Master F'Ladgen. "The assassins must have told whoever it was that came in to see me in the Force-cage, after I'd woken up, that I had been carrying a lightsaber. He pretended to have it, but he didn't. Oh… and he mentioned that I would be shipped off-planet to be under Lord Erebin's command. He mentioned rancors…" she trailed off, wondering what else she should include in the explanation.

"The guards," Zhar said, speaking for the first time during the interrogation. "How did you kill so many? Not, of course, that I am commending the act; but the number seems a bit unreasonable for three padawans, even those of your caliber."

Eliatra glanced at Orion, who was starting to grin. He coughed a little at the masters' faintly disapproving look and spoke. "We bypassed a few guards after we'd entered the base—I don't think we killed those, but once we discovered the control room, I started hacking computers. Eli left to find Tris once I found a layout of the base, and I worked on cutting the power. I just overloaded the transformers in as many rooms as I could, and the results must have…er, accidentally electrocuted anyone standing close enough. Especially in rooms like the barracks." He tried to look humble but failed miserably, breaking out into a mischievous smirk until Eliatra poked him discreetly in the side.

"You broke through the base's information security?" Khvee asked, sounding mildly incredulous. "How long did it take you?"

"A minute for the map and cell holdings information, and about ten more for the power." Orion said, shrugging. "They didn't have it protected very well."

Even Vrook looked impressed.

"Well." F'Ladgen said finally. "I must say, if you three were Knights intending to cripple the Kharryaksri, I would be duly satisfied. As it is, your discovery—intentional or not—will aid the Republic and the Jedi in hunting down both Erebin, who has been in hiding for some time, and the Kharryaksri, who may be linked with him more than we had originally thought. In addition, your loyalty to your companion, ability to work together, and apparent skill in getting out of the situation alive seems little cause for reproach. Were it not for your accidental intervention, the Queen of Alderaan might be dead. However, in the future, it may be wiser to listen and learn from the matter at hand, rather than chasing after Dark Jedi… at least until you are further trained as Jedi."

"Does this mean we won't have to clean speeders?" Tris blurted, causing all the masters to glance at her in surprise.

F'Ladgen chuckled after a moment, eliciting the spread of a bright red blush across Tris's cheeks. "What it means is that, due to the skills you showed on Coruscant, your training will likely be increased in difficulty, and we may even begin considering your capacity for Knighthood."

Eliatra's eyes widened at the thought. Knighthood so soon? She could sense Orion's mixed apprehension and excitement, and exhilaration at the idea of early Knighthood seemed to have overcome even Trisana's embarrassment.

"That being said," F'Ladgen continued, "there is nothing more that we need to tell you. You may be dismissed to your quarters until your masters inform you of your next plans."

"Thank you, Master," Eliatra said, bowing. Orion and Trisana followed suit and the three slipped out of the Council chamber, shutting the great wooden doors behind them.

"They're going to make us Knights!" Trisana crowed, seizing Eliatra and Orion in a hug. "I can't believe they're not going to punish us! Wait'll the rest of the Academy hears!"

Eli hugged them back, but gave Tris an admonishing look as the three started down the corridor. "He never said we were going to be Knights. They're only going to start thinking about it."

"It's still better than taking away our lightsabers and shipping us off to Nal Hutta in disgrace," Orion said cheerfully. "C'mon, Eli! Just think, us, Knights! We would be free to do whatever we wanted! Even if it's not going to happen yet, at least we know they're watching us."

"Freedom," Trisana sighed wistfully. "I'd do whatever I could if it meant not being held back by Master Varian anymore. He's so… insistent that I do _everything_ perfectly before moving on. Don't you want that, Eli? No more following _behind_ the more experienced Jedi. We could be like we were on Coruscant!"

"Unconscious or injured?" Eliatra replied dryly.

Orion laughed. "I think she meant the part where we killed Sith by ourselves. Well, I did anyway. Tris just-"

"Shut up," Tris said in good-natured annoyance while Orion smirked. "I definitely saved you _both_ when that one guy almost killed you."

They arrived at the dormitory wing central courtyard and Orion continued on toward the boy's dorms. "See you later, girls," he called, disappearing into the dim hallway. Eliatra and Tris started down toward their own rooms in thoughtful silence, Eli finally arriving in her own and shutting the door behind her. Overall, she reflected, the Council meeting had gone exceptionally well. Though she doubted she would be a candidate for Knighthood any time soon, being made a Knight at such a young age was not unheard of. News had traveled among the Jedi throughout the galaxy that two of the Jedi's most gifted and powerful padawans, Revan Terala and Malak Kairn'si, who were scarcely a few years older than Orion, had been recently Knighted. The two had been trained at the Khoonda academy until eight years ago, when they had been transferred to the much larger Jedi Temple on Coruscant for better access to training and teachers. Eliatra barely remembered them, save for the fact that Revan had seemed more than a little pretentious about his prodigious abilities; but then, perhaps he had right to be.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on her door, followed by Austrina poking her head in a moment later. "May I come in?" she asked unnecessarily. Eliatra nodded, wondering what her master would say. Austrina softly shut the door behind her and seated herself on top of a plasteel storage container opposite the bed, then cleared her throat. "Eli…"

"Yes, Master?" Eliatra watched her inquisitively. She had known Austrina since before she could remember, and looked up to the older Jedi like a mother as well as a friend and mentor.

"About Coruscant. While it's distressing enough that you three lied to us and acted without permission, what was even more upsetting was that you all could have been killed. When we found you again and I saw Orion holding you like that, I… I didn't know what to think. As talented as you are, Eliatra, your life was still in danger, and I don't want to see you risking it so lightly!" Though she never raised her voice, the sadness and disappointment in her tone was obvious.

Eliatra glanced down in shame, then back up at Austrina again. "With all due respect, Master Austrina, hasn't it always been said that a Jedi's life is sacrifice? Aren't we to risk all to save the innocent?"

Austrina sighed. "It's not as easy as that. I'm proud that you and Orion immediately moved to rescue Tris, and you were able to carry it off despite the odds, but you didn't stop to think about those odds. Unless the stakes are great, even a skilled Jedi won't jump into a pit of rancors that he knows he can't defeat himself."

"The stakes _were_ great, Master," Eliatra protested. "This wasn't just anyone, it was Tris. We weren't going to just stand by and let her be taken away. It's not what a Jedi would do, but more importantly, it's not what a friend would do. I couldn't live with myself if she'd died, and I knew that I could have saved her but didn't."

Her Master sighed again and rubbed her temple. "I know. But Eliatra, please listen to me this one time: We cannot afford to lose you. You are too important to me, and to the Jedi, to throw your life away like that. You must remain careful. Being a Jedi is not just wielding a lightsaber—it's protecting the innocent, but doing so wisely. When you make decisions, Eliatra, remember what you have been taught. Remember the code."

"Yes, Master." She bowed her head.

Austrina stood and straightened her tunic. "In the mean time, I'd like you to begin assisting with teaching the younger apprentice classes. You'll still be taking classes from me and the other Masters while we're here, but I think that you'll learn more about your own knowledge by teaching others than you might otherwise."

"Thank you, Master." Eliatra looked back up at her and half-smiled.

Austrina wearily smiled back. "You'll have a free hour before the noon meal. Enjoy it." She turned to leave, then paused. "And, Eliatra? I have a feeling that you may receive more attention than usual about your trip to Coruscant. Don't let it go to your head, alright?"

"Alright," Eliatra grinned. "I'm sure Orion and Tris will be only too happy to soak up all the attention, anyway."

Austrina rolled her eyes knowingly, smiled, and walked out, leaving Eliatra alone again. She pulled up her feet to sit cross-legged on her bunk and meditated on Austrina's words. It was unlike her normally easygoing Master to be so concerned over such an apparently small matter, especially one that had resulted in a positive outcome, overall. Eliatra knew that Austrina trusted her and usually left her to her own devices, knowing she was wise enough to remedy most situations she got herself into, so why would she take such care to warn her now? What had she meant by mentioning her particular importance to the Jedi? As a Padawan, Eliatra had never assumed she'd had any sort of important role, save for being a tutor to the younger apprentices and, with her abilities, a role model. It suddenly occurred to her that Austrina might know more than she was letting on. But what?

The sharp _thunk_ of a stone striking her window startled her from her thoughts, and she hastily stood and hurried to the plastiglass pane. A moment later she had worked it open, and she peered out the stone-edged opening for the source of her disturbance. An empty, nearby path, part of the surrounding Enclave gardens, and Dantooine's distant rolling hills were all that met her eyes, though she could hear the remote swish and hum of lightsabers in one of the exterior courtyards. A head of shaggy black hair and a pair of startlingly bright blue eyes unexpectedly popped up from beneath the window ledge, sending her staggering back a step in surprise. "Boo," Orion said, grinning through the window at her.

She returned to the windowsill and gave him a mock glare. "You couldn't have just knocked?"

"One of the Masters walked by. I had to dive into a bush so he wouldn't see me secretly rendezvousing with you." He grimaced and plucked a thorny twig from his tunic sleeve, then tossed it at her playfully. "You couldn't have picked a room that _wasn't_ next to the biggest patch of Coruscanti gemroses?"

"I like them," she protested, setting the twig on her window ledge. "It's your own fault for jumping into them. They're probably ruined now…"

He turned to examine them. "Nope! In fact, they kinda look like they're moving toward me. Are you sure those things are firmly rooted?" He raised an eyebrow and shifted to the right.

Eliatra rolled her eyes. "With you, anything is possible. What are you over here for, anyway?"

"I was just wondering if Master Austrina grounded you for life, or if you wanted to duel with me before lunch. Master Khvee just said we had some free time… and he mentioned something about never, _ever_ dragging you and Tris into one of my… what did he call it? Oh yeah. 'Risky, dangerous, and highly imprudent schemes' again. Beats me what he was talking about, though." He grinned at her.

She had to laugh. "I wonder why he would say something like that? Anyway, I'm not grounded, either. We seem to have been lucky. I'll meet you out in the east training courtyard in five minutes!" She shut the window as he nodded and jogged away, then started looking for her lightsaber. Life finally seemed to be back to normal.


	13. Celebrity

**A/N:** I don't own Kotor or Star Wars or even a blaster pistol, but I would still love a word of praise or criticism on this! Much love to my reviewers and readers!

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**Chapter Thirteen: Celebrity **

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It didn't take long for Master Austrina's prediction to come true. The next few days saw the three padawans besieged at every meal and in most of the enclave commons by other padawans and even some of the younger apprentices, although those clustered around Orion seemed to be exclusively of the female variety. Tris flourished under the newfound attention, and even Eliatra—whom the other padawans at the Enclave had never expressed interest in befriending—had more than a few admirers. She began to notice the effect she had on some padawans, in particular; the most startling example was a sandy-haired boy about Orion's age, named Ferian, who blushed bright red and nearly dropped whatever he was holding whenever she walked into the same room. The one time she had spoken to him, to ask him if he had a free period that day for a practice spar with Trisana, he had stuttered so badly that she could barely understand a word he had said. In exasperation, she finally took his jerky nodding and nervous smiling for a 'yes,' and left to tell Trisana. Orion noticed, of course, and wasted no time in teasing Eli about it.

"It's good you haven't dueled him yet, Eli," he joked one evening when the three of them were gathered in Trisana's dorm, he and Tris playing pazaak with a deck of cards doubtlessly 'borrowed' from Master Khvee's room while Eliatra, slung over Tris's bunk with her head hanging off the edge, watched them. "You'd probably stab him through when he accidentally dropped his lightsaber and tried to kiss your feet."

Tris giggled. "_I_ nearly stabbed him through, and he didn't seem half so awed by me. I think he just wanted to know what Your Worship was like."

Eliatra rolled her eyes. "I don't know why he seems so nervous around me. It's not like I'm going to attack him, or something…"

Orion snorted. "I'm pretty sure that's what he wishes you'd do. Blasters, Tris, where did _that_ card come from?" He eyed the card stacks in front of them with dismay as Tris gloated over her fourth win in a row.

"What do you mean?" Eliatra asked, raising an eyebrow at the thought.

"What he means," Tris said, picking up her next hand of cards while Orion dealt them out with a look of determination, "is that Ferian _likes_ you. Can't you see that gooey look he gets whenever you come within a hundred feet of him?"

"No, he doesn't," Eliatra said reflexively. "Why would he? I mean… I don't even know him. We've only spoken _once_, and I think that was so traumatizing for him I'd rather not do it again."

"You should. It might be amusing to see him keel over in shock," Orion said dryly.

"And I don't suppose you have the same effect on your little groupies?" Eliatra shot back. "You certainly have enough of them."

He glanced up at her in slight surprise. "What, you mean Kayli and the rest?"

"Who else? They can barely keep their hands off you," Tris commented.

Orion shrugged. "Can I help it if they've only just realized how great I really am?" He grinned at Eliatra, then lightly poked her nose with a teasing look. "Don't worry, Eli. I'm not about to abandon you guys. Kayli and Silven aren't any different than when we were apprentices—snobbish airheads who can't begin to compare with you and Tris."

"Aww," Tris cooed. "That's the sweetest thing—hey!" She scowled as Orion turned over a card to give himself a perfect twenty, the winning score in pazaak.

"Good," Eli said, touching the tip of her nose. "I was starting to get worried about you, 'Rion."

"What, you think I could be so easily swayed?" He gave her a hurt look. "They couldn't pay me to leave you guys." He paused a moment, then reconsidered, "Well…" Tris rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm, and he grinned. "Kidding. Kidding!"

----------

Despite her denial of Orion's implication that Ferian liked her, Eliatra reluctantly found herself coming to the same conclusion about him as well as several others in the Enclave. She began to be acutely aware of the too-casual run-ins, furtive glances, and whispered allusions to her by the other padawans, few of whom seemed to be brave enough to actually approach her. Although her seeming popularity with most of the other girls had died down after their first few days back at the Enclave, she could do little to divert the attention of the boys that she had drawn to herself, to her slight dismay.

It was during one of her late afternoon practice spars with a training droid, a week after her return to Dantooine, that one of her spectators surprised her. The small group of padawans clustered around the edge of the courtyard who were raptly watching her parted to let a tall boy of sixteen, about her age, step confidently into the practice circle. She stood upright after a lunge and motioned to the droid to cease fire, then gave the boy a curious look. He was a relative newcomer to the academy who had been staying here with his master for only a month or two, and had only just begun to establish his place among the other padawans. He blinked his clear, emerald eyes after a moment, seemingly shaking himself from a daze, and gave her a slight bow. "Eliatra," he said, his voice as confident as his step, though she detected a slight arrogance about it. "I am Atihren Yahr. Do you have the time for brief practice duel with me?"

She surveyed him thoughtfully. His olive skin, dark hair, and clipped accent suggested he was from one of the outlying Jedi enclaves in a distant system, and the length of his padawan braid told her he'd had a number of years of training. As to his fighting abilities, though, she had no idea. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she reached back to tighten the band holding her long hair. "I would be honored," she replied finally. Aside from their battle on Coruscant, it had been months since she'd sparred with anyone but Orion, Tris, or one of the masters.

He broke out into a grin, flashing a row of even white teeth. "Good." He moved to the opposite side of the circle and unclipped a lightsaber from his belt, waiting for her to disable the practice droid and ready herself. The excited murmur of the group watching slowly fell to silence as she turned, tucked a wayward strand of hair behind one ear, and nodded. "I'm ready when you are, Atihren."

"Until one of us yields?" he asked.

"I accept the terms," she said, using the time-honored dueling phrase.

Atihren nodded, dropped into a ready stance, and ignited his lightsaber, the blade glinting a brilliant green that was almost the same shade as his eyes. Eliatra shifted her weight forward, taking note of both his defensive stance and the color of his blade: green was usually associated with Jedi Consulars, whose style utilized less swordplay and more Force powers to disable their opponents. Although saber color was rarely a reliable indicator of someone's style—more often it was a hue significant to the bearer—the color of a padawan's first lightsaber generally reflected the path in which he or she had the most significant training. Eliatra's own blade, the deep blue of Dantooine's summer sky, signified the vigorous style associated with Jedi Guardians, who favored near-invincible lightsaber combat combined with a strong Force defense to bring down their adversaries. She leveled her saber in front of her face, tightening her grip on the hilt, and waited, everything silent around them save for the hum of their lightsabers. As the challenger, Atihren had the right to strike first, and suddenly he took advantage of that right. He propelled himself across the courtyard in a great Force-leap, swinging his blade up to meet hers in a jarring blow in front of their faces. She grinned and whipped her saber down toward his hip, barely waiting for him to block before swinging back up toward his face, then ducking down to swipe at his legs. Atihren grunted as he barely caught her saber, then thrust it upward and lunged toward her midsection while she was temporarily defenseless. Eliatra nimbly stepped to the side and used the momentum to spin and cut toward his back in a powerful arc. He quickly thrust his saber over his head and behind his back just in time to block her attack, then forced her saber to one side and flung his free hand out at her. Eliatra felt herself frozen in mid-swing as her muscles seized up beyond her control and her entire body trembled with a vibration that hummed through her bones. Atihren, too, seemed frozen in place with concentration, his hand still held outstretched and beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

_Stay calm,_ Eliatra thought, trying first to see if she could physically break the hold. She couldn't. _He's good,_ she couldn't help thinking in slight admiration beyond her frustration that she had been caught off-guard. _Think fast… have to break his hold…_ He was starting to move carefully now, sweat still trickling down his face as he prepared to move his saber into place to force her into a defeat. She reached for the Force, felt it welling at her grasp, and _willed_ it to halt the disorienting hum, to flow through her muscles and overpower his grip. There was a collective gasp from the crowd of onlookers as she suddenly burst from his control and swung at him with all her might. Atihren's eyes widened as he blocked her attack at the last possible minute, then began to slowly back up as she drove forward, raining blow after blow on him, her saber becoming a blinding blur that nearly obscured the green of his own blade. She lunged forward in a point-blank thrust at his chest, spun when he parried the attack and threw out her own hand when she had turned to face him again. Atihren yelped as her powerful Force wave launched him backward fifteen feet onto his back and nearly into their audience. Eliatra smiled slightly and started toward him, her saber still held before her. "Ready to give up yet?" she asked lightly.

He narrowed his eyes in determination and pulled himself to his feet, his saber still ignited. "You haven't won yet!" he retorted with a sneer. Eliatra revised her earlier approval of his skill and shrugged at him carelessly, noting his sweat-drenched tunic and the wild look in his eyes, while she was relatively unruffled in comparison. Suddenly he powerfully lunged at her, his saber outstretched. Eliatra flung herself to one side and hit the stone-tiled ground in an agile tumble, then drew up a Force shield as an instinctual precaution. Her instincts proved correct when Atihren attempted to hit her with a Force attack while her back was turned to him, then cursed when she leapt at him unaffected. She grinned and swept her blade toward his shoulder, then down at his feet and just as rapidly at his other shoulder. The instant he brought his blade up to block her blow, she continued her downward force and bore down the length of his blade toward the end. He cried out as the hilt slipped from his hand and the lightsaber spun end over end into the air, hitting the ground with a clatter and deactivating. She whipped her own blade to his throat and, panting slightly, met his gaze. "Do you yield?" she asked evenly.

He nodded grudgingly and raised his hands. "I yield. You are the victor… Eliatra."

Eliatra lowered her blade and deactivated it, then turned to look at the small group of watching padawans and was startled to see that it had grown considerably. Slowly, the sound of one pair of hands clapping began, followed by another and another until the entire audience was applauding her. She grinned, suddenly feeling a burst of Orion-like enthusiasm take her, and bowed deeply to them. The group abruptly parted as a Twi'lek in Master's robes burst through, his gaze falling on Atihren as the padawan stooped to pick up his fallen lightsaber hilt. "Padawan!" The master demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"I was sparring with Eliatra, Master Kret. Sabre," he said when his master's frown deepened. "She won," he added, more quietly.

"_You_ were beaten by a girl?" Master Kret said incredulously. He turned to look at Eliatra, who met his gaze defiantly.

"Yes, Master." Atihren raised his chin. "She was more than a worthy opponent." He looked over at Eliatra and half-smiled. "I thank you for the honor, Lady Eliatra." He bowed to her and brushed past his master, disappearing through the crowd. The Twi'lek eyed Eliatra for a moment, sniffed disdainfully, and followed his padawan's path, the crowd beginning to disperse after them with excited murmurs of opinion on the spar.

Eliatra watched them go for a few seconds, replaying the battle in her head. It had gone well, she decided, and turned to motion the practice droid toward her again. There was still some time before the evening meal. She was about to ignite her saber again when Orion unexpectedly materialized at her side, startling her so much she nearly dropped the hilt. "Nice job," he grinned, patting her shoulder.

She dismissed the vaguely queasy feeling in her stomach at his touch as the aftereffect of him sneaking up on her. "How did I not see you in the crowd?" she asked, turning to look up at him and shading her eyes against the afternoon sun. "You're taller than anyone else at the academy."

"Except Master Varian," he amended. "I only came in just in time to see you break that stasis. How could you let him catch you with that? I thought you'd be used to deflecting it, with as much as Tris likes to use it."

"I've never fought him before," she protested. "I wasn't sure what to expect. To be honest, I wasn't expecting anyone to challenge me today. You know how rarely it happens… I was just here working on my blaster deflection, and he came out of nowhere and asked to spar with me. He called me 'Lady,'" she added, her brow furrowing slightly as she glanced past Orion in the direction Atihren had gone.

"He's from Kubindi," Orion said dismissively. "A nobleman's son who was found Force-sensitive and taken to the Jedi enclave there. He never lost the Court manners or the stuck-up attitude, though."

"How do you know?" Eliatra asked curiously.

He shoved his hands into his robe pockets and rocked back on his heels. "I was apprenticed at the Kubindi academy for a while. We were roommates, but we never really… bonded."

"Does he remember you?" There was something about his stance that was beginning to make her suspicious.

"Thankfully not," he said, then grinned. "It made tr…talking to him much easier."

She raised an eyebrow. "You don't know anything about _why_, exactly, he approached me today?"

Orion suddenly looked very innocent.

"Orion…" Her eyes narrowed. She knew that look all too well. "You put him up to it, didn't you?"

He swallowed, met her gaze, and hurriedly raised his hands in alarm at her dangerous look, taking a step backwards. "Look, Eli, I-"

"Orion Rivalen!" She seized the front of his tunic and yanked his head down on level with her own. "What in _space_ did you think you were doing? Don't you think I can handle my _own_ affairs? You could have-"

"Eli!" He grabbed her wrists in a firm but gentle grip, halting her tirade. "The only reason I did it was because I _knew_ you could handle him. You haven't seen the way he looks down on almost everyone else just because he's good with a saber. I should have warned you, but—I haven't had the time, especially with the girls trailing me all the time. I was lucky to get rid of them long enough to come here."

Eliatra was unwilling to drop the issue so easily. "Is that all I am to you, then?" she demanded hotly. "A means to show up your old rivals? You have your own 'girls' now, there's no need to _associate_ with the likes of me when you can stand by and watch me fight your battles!"

"Eli, no! I didn't mean it like that! He-"

"Then how _did_ you mean it?"

"He said that…he doubted anyone here could best him in a duel, that his master was only putting his training on hold by bringing him here. I told him that he might be able to learn something if he battled you, and he didn't believe me, so I dared him to. I'm sorry, Eli." This was, in fact, far from the truth, but she didn't need to know that. "Please forgive me," he added softly.

The fight seemed to go out of her all at once and she loosened her grip on his tunic. "Orion…"

"Orion!" A light voice called from across the courtyard. Both padawans glanced over in surprise to see raven-haired Silven standing at the Enclave doors, her hands at her hips. "There you are! What are you doing out here? It's almost time for dinner, you know!" She smiled sweetly at them, though Eliatra was sure she saw a trace of venom in her expression as her gaze fell on Eliatra.

"Looks like your girlfriend's here," she murmured with a bittersweet smile to mask the sudden ache in her heart, and pulled her wrists from his grasp. She grabbed the hovering practice droid from midair and, clipping her saber back on her tunic belt, brushed past Orion and started walking quickly back toward the Enclave entrance, ignoring Silven's smug look on her way through.

"Eli, wait! She's not…ah." He sighed in frustration and let his hands drop as Eliatra continued on through the massive wooden doors without looking back.

----------

Eliatra didn't see Orion again until the next morning, when she was called away by Master Austrina from helping to teach Master Zhar's meditation class. Austrina's thick auburn hair was still damp from the refresher as she braided it back while they strode down the serenely quiet stone hallways toward the Council chamber. "I'm not sure what they want," the Master admitted, brushing her hands together before checking for loose strands of hair. She glanced sideways at Eliatra with a sudden thought. "You haven't done anything, have you?"

"No," Eliatra replied, half-wondering if Atihren's master had really been so angry about her success in their spar. The idea of going to the Council about it seemed absurd, though. She hadn't told anyone, including her master, about either her duel with the other padawan or her subsequent fight with Orion. She had avoided him at breakfast that morning, and though she was sure he'd been there—almost nothing got between Orion and his food—he certainly hadn't approached her. Part of her longed to resolve whatever was between them, but another part remained stubborn and insisted that she wait for him to make the first move.

They arrived at the Council chamber and stepped through the open doorway into the great circular room, where its occupants awaited them. Eliatra stopped and bowed beside Austrina, then looked around the small gathering of Jedi there as they stepped to the side. Master F'Ladgen was there, as well as Master Dorak and Master Vrook; Zhar was absent at his apprentice learners' meditation class. Before she could ask why they hadn't begun yet, the sound of footsteps came from the doorway behind them. Eliatra turned to see Master Khvee followed by Orion enter the chamber, and F'Ladgen clasped his hands together as the two newcomers bowed before him. Orion glanced questioningly at her, but she looked away, refusing to see the hurt look he gave her before he turned his attention to the masters.

"Masters Austrina and Khvee," F'Ladgen announced, folding his hands inside his robe sleeves, "I am here to assign you and your padawans an off-planet mission. There is to be a coronation on Naboo of their new reigning Queen; as the former Queen Aertila has stepped down, the people have elected Kadela Amanarrel as their new leader. After the discovered threat to Alderaan's Queen Arabella, both the Republic and the Royal Guard of Naboo have deemed it appropriate to take extra precautions at Princess Kadela's coronation in the likelihood of an attack. In addition to heavy monitoring of the event by security and military personnel, the Queen-to-be has requested that we send Jedi to further ensure the safety of Naboo's new leader as she is inducted.

"Ordinarily, we would send Master Varian Kurtmar due to his frequent past visits to the planet and the ties he has created there, but this very familiarity is why he cannot attend this mission. If members of the Kharryaksri—or any assassins—are at the coronation, they will be expecting heavier security and the possibility of Jedi. If they are able to recognize one, they will know who he is and take extra steps to bypass him on their own mission. By sending you two, relative strangers to Naboo, there is a greater chance you may take the assassins by surprise before they can do any harm. This may seem obvious, but you may not wear your Jedi robes at the coronation. It is essential that you blend in as much as possible, and if it means wearing formal dress, so be it. Of course, you have freedom to make the clothing as flexible and battle-worthy as need be…as long as it can still look at home among Naboo's finest. Master Niltrei, you will have to use a Force illusion to mask yourself as a human, at least while in the company of Theed's nobles. You will accompany Master Lelovare and act as her partner, while you, Padawans Sabre and Rivalen, will accompany each other similarly.

"The coronation is a three-day rite that will occur in about two week's time, which I expect will be enough for you to prepare yourselves. You will arrive two days before it begins, in order to become acquainted with the surroundings, the Princess, and the Guard, and I doubt your stay will extend more than a week's time, if that. I expect you to push yourselves to the limit to protect the Princess and the people of Naboo with every resource you have. Do you accept this mission?"

"We do," Khvee said quietly, Austrina echoing him a second later.

"Good. Come to me if you have any questions at all. You are dismissed." F'Ladgen turned and started toward one of the side doorways with the other two Council members, while Austrina and Khvee began walking together toward the main entrance, leaving Orion and Eliatra to walk behind them.

"Never thought we'd be leaving so soon after coming back, huh?" Orion said quietly to Eliatra with a hopeful smile.

"No," she replied just as quietly without looking at him.

His smile faded. "Eli… come on. You know I never meant to upset you… why would I? You being mad is a hell of a lot scarier than any kath hound."

She finally looked over at him, an unwilling smile tugging at her mouth. "Then you must've been pretty brave to face me down like that."

"Damn right. Didn't you see me quaking in my boots?" He grinned again as she started to smile and look down. "So am I forgiven? I did apologize, after all…"

"I don't know…" She glanced slyly at him. "I may have to make you work for it."

"Oh, please!" He grimaced dramatically and slapped a hand to his face. "Don't you know how painful it was just to apologize? That sort of thing doesn't come easily to us men!"

"You must not want it that badly, then…" She shrugged carelessly, though she could barely disguise how good it felt to not be mad at him anymore.

"Eli?" Orion stopped in the middle of the corridor and crossed his arms, widening his eyes at her. "I would rather wrestle a hungry krayt dragon with my bare hands than make you angry again. Is that good enough for you?"

Eliatra couldn't hold back a laugh. "For now. You'd better watch it, though!"


	14. Distracted

**A/N:** Sing it with me now, class... "I don't own Star Wars, I'm not a Jedi, Lightsabers don't exist... and Duncan's not a Dead-eye!" Okay, that was bad. I'll admit it. But remember... if you love me you will leave me a review!! -bats eyelashes flirtatiously-

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**Chapter Fourteen: Distracted **

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Trisana looked up and smiled with relief to see Eliatra and Orion approaching their usual corner table together that evening at supper. Eliatra hadn't told her what their fight had been about the day before, but any tension between the two usually close friends was unpleasant for Tris, who hated taking sides. The source of their argument seemed to have dissipated, however, because they both seemed as good-natured as usual when they reached the table and seated themselves beside Tris, then started dishing up from the array of food laid out on the table. She raised her eyebrows at them as Orion dug into his meal with gusto and Eliatra smiled a greeting. "Was it true what I heard today? You two are going to a coronation on Naboo?" Rumors tended to spread rapidly in the small academy, and her two friends hadn't been at lunch to substantiate what was going around.

Eliatra glanced over at her in surprise. "You've heard already? I haven't told anyone…"

Trisana shrugged. "I overheard Senna going on about it to Janaya and Zhirrith in our Blaster Defense class today. I thought I would have heard it from you first, though…" She tried to hide the hurt in her voice.

Orion looked up a little guiltily. "Sorry. Silven was bothering me about going to some function at the Matale's next month with her, and I guess it just kinda… slipped out that I'd be on Naboo during the party. I wouldn't have gone anyway," he added hastily when Eliatra shot him a cross look.

"It's okay," Tris shrugged again. "So are you going to tell me about it? When do you leave? What are you going to do? And why aren't I invited too?"

Eliatra laughed. "They would have had Master Varian go, but apparently they know him too well on Naboo. Sorry, Tris… better luck next time."

"We'll bring you a souvenir, though," Orion said with a grin. "How 'bout a nice swamp toad?"

"No, thanks!" Tris exclaimed, wrinkling her nose.

"Anyway," Eliatra continued, rolling her eyes at Orion's remark, "Since the old Queen is stepping down, they're crowning a new one in a few weeks…"

By the time Eliatra finished explaining, the padawans had nearly finished their meal and Orion was starting in on Eliatra's leftovers with his usual zeal. "Master approaching at six o'clock," he muttered suddenly into her ear. Eliatra was about to ask who it was when Master Austrina's slim hand touched her shoulder.

"I want to see you two after dinner for dress fittings," she said when Eli turned to look up at her. "You, too," she added to Orion when he turned away dismissively.

He stopped short and looked back at her. "Me, too? Why? You're not getting _me_ into a dress," he said suspiciously.

Austrina chuckled. "No dresses for you, I promise. But you can't go to the coronation in your tunic… the _Theed Vogue Monthly_ informs me that they're several years out of style."

"But _why_?" he whined as Tris snickered. "No one will see it under my cloak. Besides, aren't we just guards?"

Austrina put her hands on her hips. "You're going to get fitted for dress robes whether you want to or not. I want to see you and Eli after dinner at the tailor's, _no exceptions_." She turned and started walking back toward the entrance to the dining hall.

Orion sighed resignedly and turned to stare at Eli. "And I thought Master Varian was bad!"

Eli punched him in the arm. "She's only like that to you." She grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him. "Are we going to discover your secret fear of wearing anything resembling fashionable clothes?"

He grinned back at her. "Not if I can help it!" He snatched a handful of steamed legumes from the bowl on the table and tossed them at the girls, then swung his legs over the bench and dashed out of the hall. Eliatra and Trisana yelped and sprinted after him, bits of the green vegetables flying off of them while the rest of the dining hall's occupants looked on in amusement.

----------

The next week flew by in a rush of dress fittings, packing, preparation for the trip to Naboo, more fittings, and training crammed in where there was time. There was some confusion and stress among the masters when the slightly derelict freighter they were supposed to have taken inexplicably turned up with a damaged navigational computer that, instead of providing a map of known hyperspace routes, stubbornly refused to offer anything but directions to an impressive number of cantinas on Coruscant. Orion only gave Eliatra his best innocent look when she accused him of being behind the incident; however, no one complained when the Naboo mission was re-assigned a newer and much more comfortable—not to mention better maintained—freighter for transportation. "It's about time that old junker's wiring went haywire, anyway," Khvee muttered after finding out about the old freighter, missing Orion's sidelong smug look at Eliatra and her rolling her eyes skyward in response.

It was early afternoon a few days after the incident that Eliatra was standing on a low stool in the tailor's quarters, trying to ignore the growing cramp in her left calf from standing still for so long and the stubbornly persistent itch on her right knee that she couldn't scratch. She compensated by carefully shifting her weight to her other foot, slowly raised her hand to brush a strand of hair from her face, and—sneezed. "Hold still!" Austrina, kneeling by her feet, mumbled through a mouthful of pins. The enclave's resident tailor, who ordinarily would have overseen the altering of the deep crimson gown Eliatra would wear to Naboo, had unexpectedly gone on sick leave the week before, leaving Austrina on her own as far as formal dress was concerned. Fortunately, Eliatra's Master was far more adept at dress fitting than she was at droid repair, and had been able to adjust the secondhand—though resplendent—gown to a perfect fit, and Eliatra, who had never worn a dress before, was extremely pleased with the results.

"Sorry," she apologized while standing as still as she could. Austrina was nearly finished with fitting the dress, now only pinning up the bottom of the skirt. Apparently its last wearer had been significantly taller than Eliatra, making the skirt long enough to trip on if left unaltered. This part of the fitting process was the most tiring to Eliatra, though, who was beginning to long for her more comfortable—if plainer—Jedi tunic. In an effort to stifle her growing boredom, she glanced over at her reflection in the tall mirror opposite her and wondered if she would fit in well enough at the coronation. The gown certainly seemed to transform her from a simple padawan to someone almost, well, _princess_ like. The vibrant crimson of the figure-hugging sleeveless gown was graced at the top by tiny, sparkling gold spirals and vine-like curls of embroidery that twined in a narrow pattern from the top of the gown down the center of the dress, then curled around a similar, but bolder pattern of black embroidered tendrils that seemed to grow from around the bottom of the full, floor-length skirt, each color contrasting with the almost-metallic fabric of the dress. Loose, sheer fabric in a similarly rich red draped around her upper arms, somehow attaching to the top of the dress beneath her arms, and gracefully rippled down her forearms before belling out around her hands and coming to an elegant point that faded from crimson to black. Austrina, who had designed and made the impromptu sleeves herself and attached them only a few days earlier, had informed her that, in addition to allowing maximum movement of her arms, their loose, flowing design would easily conceal both a small dagger strapped to one arm and a special sheath for her lightsaber on the other arm, holding them both in easy reach while allowing her to keep them unnoticed by anyone watching.

Suddenly striking on a thought, Eliatra lifted her hand to check her chronometer. 13:55…that meant that Orion should be nearly done with whatever class he'd been in this last hour, assuming he wasn't off playing a prank somewhere. She carefully turned to look at Austrina, who was now working on the back of her skirt. "Master Austrina?"

"Yes?" Austrina glanced up at her.

"Could I take a short break? You look like you could use a stretch, too," she added as her master sat up and winced when her back cracked.

Austrina waved her off, and Eliatra carefully stepped off the stool, then hurried out the door, finding she had to lift her skirt slightly. The location of the tailor's quarters on the smaller second level of the Enclave meant that she had to find her way through several corridors before going down the wide marble staircase into one of the few enclosed foyers, which would lead into the academy complex. She had just reached the top of the staircase when she spotted Orion trudging across the floor below, wiping off his sweat-dampened face with an equally damp cloak. "Orion!" she called, pausing a few steps down when she saw that he'd heard her, the gown swinging gently at her ankles. "'Rion! I need to ask you something!"

He stopped and looked up in surprise at her voice, then took a step back and stared at her. "Why…what…you…" he stuttered, his eyes wide and his mouth gaping slightly as he grasped for words.

Eliatra grinned and glanced down at the gown, remembering that he hadn't seen her wear it before. There wasn't much that could stun Orion into speechlessness. "It's for the coronation on Naboo, remember? So we can blend in? It's secondhand-" she plucked at the fabric of the bodice, which hugged her curves perfectly, "-but Master Austrina is _amazing_ at fitting. So anyway…" She trailed off, eyeing Orion staring agape at her, and wondered if perhaps the gown didn't fit quite as well as she'd thought it did.

Orion finally seemed to pull himself together and found his voice, looking only slightly sheepish. "What did you need to ask me?" he called up to her.

"If you were too busy to have a practice spar with me later… it's not a big deal if you don't…" she finished uncertainly.

"Of course I have time! In… an hour, then, Milady?" He grinned and bowed deeply to her, sweeping off an imaginary hat as he did so.

Eliatra rolled her eyes at his theatrics but grinned back anyway, glad she would be seeing him later despite their busy schedules. "Thanks a million, 'Rion. I'll see you later… I'd better get back to Master Austrina!" He waved good-bye as she turned and started back up the stairs. _That was odd,_ she thought as she made her way back to the tailor's rooms. She would have to ask Orion about it later.

He seemed to be back to normal when she met him for their spar later that afternoon, though…or so it seemed at first. There was no one but Orion and Master Khvee in the dueling courtyard when she left the Enclave to join them; Orion was going through stretching exercises and Master Khvee was offering suggestions. Both waved a cheerful greeting when they saw her. "I thought I would observe your technique, Eliatra," Khvee explained when she paused to bow to him. His eyes sparkled in a way reminiscent of Orion's. "Word has gotten around of your success against Master Kret's padawan."

"He was a worthy opponent," Eliatra replied at the same time Orion scoffed, "He's not as good as he pretends he is."

Khvee looked bemused. "Each swordsman has his own unique fault, Orion…as well as a unique strength. You would do better to discover your own before denouncing another's."

"Of course, Master," Orion said, momentarily humbled. He turned to Eliatra and a look she couldn't read flickered across his face before he grinned. "Are you ready?"

She grinned back at him and unclipped her saber. "Are you?"

"Always. Until the other yields?"

"I accept the terms." She barely paused before leaping forward, her saber still deactivated, tumbled when she heard his blade spring to life, and rolled to her feet with her lightsaber suddenly alive in a brilliant blue and swiping up at his chest. He stumbled back, caught off guard, and barely blocked her attack. She let her momentum continue to carry her forward and hit him with a series of flurried blows that forced him to keep stepping back. "What's the matter with you?" She yelled over the sound of clashing blades, more teasing than concerned. Orion was usually a _much_ better duelist than this, more often getting the better of her unless she was constantly on her guard.

"What do you mean?" He managed a grin but seemed flustered, which was not desirable when one was fighting with lightsabers.

"C'mon, Orion, don't go easy on me now!" She swept down at his feet and just as quickly up again at his head. Barely giving him time to block those, she spun and struck his blade with a jarring blow that almost forced it from his hands, then drove forward in a powerful thrust at his belly. He yelped and danced to the side, swinging his blade to knock hers aside, and ventured an attack at her shoulder. _Finally_, Eliatra thought as she easily blocked the attack and swept toward the wide opening he'd left at his side. He spun his saber to parry the blow, momentarily taking one hand off the hilt, and she swiftly twisted his blade to the side, sending it flying across the courtyard. He hastily back flipped away from her before she could raise her saber to his neck and, coming up, threw out his hand to hit her with a Force wave. Suspecting he'd do something like that, she braced and created a Force shield that absorbed most of the blow. Orion took advantage of her pause and dove for his lightsaber. His eyes widened in surprise as the hilt rolled away from his fingertips just as he was about to grab it, and Eliatra grinned as it flew into her off hand. She ignited his blade and stepped forward, the combined light of the two blades casting a pale blue glow on her face.

Orion, still sitting on the tiled floor of the courtyard, threw his hands up in defeat. "I yield!" he said, relaxing visibly when Eliatra deactivated the sabers and tossed his hilt back to him.

Master Khvee's amused look had turned into one of mild reproof. "I hadn't realized how poor your dueling skills have become, Orion," he admonished while Orion brushed himself off.

"Yes, 'Rion," Eliatra said curiously. "What happened?"

"I don't know," he said, sounding somewhat bewildered. "I just…was unfocused, I guess…"

Khvee shook his head. "You'll need to keep your wits about you if you're to be of any use on Naboo. I believe it would be prudent to assign you some additional training exercises over the next few weeks." Orion groaned.

Eliatra shook her head bemusedly and turned to walk away as Master Khvee started admonishing Orion for his lackluster dueling performance. She wondered what had come over him, mentally replaying the battle. Although she couldn't deny that her own prowess with a lightsaber could be intimidating to some of her opponents, Orion—who had fought with her enough times before that they could nearly predict each other's moves—was the least likely to become panicked and lose his advantage in such a short time. There was the small possibility that he had only pretended to fight so poorly, either to let her win or to regain control of the duel by surprise, but the first option, considering that he'd challenged her in the first place, seemed laughable, and the second seemed doubtful based on the fact that, had he wanted to, he could have done _something_ to turn the fight to his favor. Orion was nearly her equal when it came to dueling, so why had she won so easily? The only plausible explanation she could come up with was that he had somehow been distracted; but what had drawn his concentration so powerfully from the battle? It couldn't be the mission on Naboo; he seemed too confident about that to let it detract his attention during a duel. It couldn't be Eliatra herself, since they had been on good terms after having made up after their fight. It could, possibly, have had something to do with Tris, or—her heart suddenly, inexplicably, sank—one of his new 'friends.' Senna or Kayli or Silven—the ringleaders of his little fan club, whom she had never really liked but lately had come to privately loathe. But perhaps Orion didn't feel the same way.

_There is no emotion. There is peace. There is no emotion._ Somehow the mantra of those beginning lines of the Jedi code, recited almost daily by any Master throughout the academy, did little to sooth either her unexpectedly aching heart or the sting of tears pricking at her eyes. Furious with the unbidden emotions, she paused to lean against the cool stone wall of a hallway within the Enclave, letting its icy touch seep into her cheek. There was no reason to get all worked up, she told herself. Strong emotions, never mind something as powerful as an intimate relationship, were forbidden by an unwritten law of the Jedi. Why would she like Orion that way, anyway? The Jedi were all she needed. All she wanted. The argument was unconvincing even in her head.

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"Lightsaber, gowns, dress robes, emergency rations, padawans… padawans?" Austrina paused in checking off her mental packing list and looked around the dimly lit Enclave docking bay, her brow furrowed. As if on cue, Khvee appeared in the bay's entrance corridor with Orion and Eliatra in tow. "They were saying good-bye," he explained simply.

She nodded, eyeing them critically as though to ensure they were the actual Orion and Eliatra, and not fakes, which in Orion's case might have been true. He assured her of the opposite by surveying their freighter, the _Crystal Justice_, approvingly. "Much better than that old scrap heap we were supposed to take, eh?" he remarked innocently.

Austrina, who had also had her suspicions about the reprogrammed navcomp's culprit, only rolled her eyes and waved them toward the ship. "We need to head out before it gets too late. At this rate it'll be midnight before we reach Naboo, and we'll still need to meet the Princess and the Guard. Khvee, you've come up with a suitable disguise?"

Khvee waved dismissively as they started toward the boarding ramp. "I have ample time to prepare. I see no need to disguise myself until we reach Theed. No offense to your kind—" he half-smiled at Austrina, "—but I would rather remain in my own form as long as I am able to."

Just ahead of them, Eliatra and Orion made their way into the ship and toward the single bunkroom to stow their own carry-on packs. While it was larger than their former ship, the _Crystal Justice_ could hold at the most six passengers, making it only slightly less cramped than the four-passenger "scrap heap," as Orion had described it. Seeming to strike on a thought, Orion leaned down slightly to mutter in Eli's ear. "Maybe we should've tried for something bigger," he said, eyes twinkling.

Eliatra elbowed him. "It's not like we're _living_ in it," she whispered back as they reached the bunk room, their masters close behind. In the days since their duel, Eliatra had managed to stifle—or at least hide—the inexplicable surge of conflicting emotions over Orion that she couldn't ignore. Nothing could explain her flush of happiness whenever he grinned at her, the nervous fluttering in her stomach when he spoke, or, most unnervingly, the way her mind had gone utterly blank the day before when, during breakfast, he'd reached across the table to brush a long strand of hair away from her face. The seeming loss of control over her own willpower, her own _mind_, was thoroughly upsetting…though a small part of her would have been more than happy with it if only Orion would… but no. Realizing she needed to focus, Eliatra pulled herself back to the present to see him rather craftily watching Austrina, who was checking their formal clothes. She surreptitiously elbowed him again, and he shot her an injured look. "What?"

"Don't even _think_ about it," she hissed.

He widened his eyes innocently at her. "Think about what, Eli?"

"You know what," she replied, knowing full well he wouldn't admit to anything.

He didn't disappoint her. "What, breakfast? And how we're _missing_ it because we had to get up so early?" His stomach growled as though in agreement, making him blush slightly. "I don't understand why everyone's in such a rush to get out," he muttered. "What if we were attacked by rogue spacers and we passed out at the gun turrets from lack of food?"

"_You_ would," she said pointedly. "Besides, didn't I see you smuggling something from dinner under your tunic last night?"

He brightened considerably. "Hey, you're right! Biscuits!" He immediately dived toward one of the closets and flung open the door, then yelped as several bags and small containers toppled out on top of him, knocking him off balance to land clumsily on his rear.

Austrina and Khvee, who had left moments before to begin preparing the ship for liftoff, burst into the bunkroom after hearing the commotion. "You couldn't wait until we were under way to start unpacking things?" Khvee demanded irritably. "Clean this up and get to the communications center!"

Orion looked sheepish until they left, then turned to Eli with a rueful look as he climbed to his feet. "You had to mention food, didn't you?"

It was her turn to be indignant. "What? You were the one that brought it up!"

"I know." He grinned jokingly. "But you're cute when you're mad." With that, he stooped to begin picking up the fallen bags and boxes.

Eliatra stared in shock, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. _Cute_? She was about to say something—though she wasn't sure what—when Khvee's voice crackled over the ship's intercom while the bass rumble of the freighter's engines thrummed. "_Crystal Justice_ preparing for liftoff. Initializing primary boosters. Emergency gravitational field primed. Preparing to clear planetary gravitational field…" The entire ship hummed around them and rocked slightly as it began to clear the surface, the secondary engines roaring to life. The tremendous wash of sound was too much to be heard over, so Eliatra sat back against a bunk while Orion braced himself against the storage closet. Their mission was finally beginning.


	15. Fit for a Queen

**A/N:** Star Wars is still not owned by moi. When it is, this will be a nice thick hardcover at Borders. Until then... reading it here will just have to suffice. Don't forget to review!

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**Chapter Fifteen: Fit For a Queen **

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Eliatra and Orion crowded behind the pilot's seat to peer out the _Crystal Justice_'s narrow viewport at the dizzying sight below them. The fourteen-hour flight to Naboo was nearly over as Khvee and Austrina directed the freighter down through the planet's atmosphere and closer to Theed, the majestic waterfall city that was Naboo's proud capital. The vibrant glow of the setting sun caught the mist from the cascading falls, igniting it with a fiery blaze of color whose brilliance nearly rivaled the light of the sun itself. Beyond Theed's broad arches, green-capped towers, and sprawling architecture lay distant viridian fields dotted with tiny round things that Eliatra supposed were herds of animals, and even further away were rolling hills, sharp mountain crags and a distant streak of dark forest.

The _Justice_ swooped low over the city and honed in on the wide mouth of a docking bay, then slowly settled inside with the gracefulness of a bird landing on water. Eliatra brushed invisible lint off her tunic—they hadn't yet changed into their dress clothes—as the masters brushed past them toward the boarding ramp. Orion gave her a sideways glance as they followed. "Why are you nervous?"

She shook off the only slightly unsettling sense that he'd read her mind. "I don't know. What if we aren't ready? What if we have to fight, and I trip over my dress?"

He grinned impishly. "I'm sure they'd be so startled at your beauty that they'd never see us coming."

Eliatra, wondering if this was a genuine compliment or only a teasing remark, was prevented from replying by their arrival at the bottom of the boarding ramp, where Austrina and three men were speaking. "Khvee and I were informed that we would be staying close to Princess Kadela's quarters," Austrina was saying to the two men wearing uniforms of a rich burgundy embellished with a royal insignia. The third man, dressed in a familiar-looking Master's tunic, had deeply tanned skin, curly black hair, and piercing ebony eyes that glittered in suppressed amusement as he patiently watched the exchange, his hands folded within his robe sleeves.

"I understand, Master Lelovare," one of the guards replied. "But we are to bring you to the Captain of the Guard first, to ensure you are truly who you say you are."

"It's alright, Austrina," the man in Master's robes said calmly. "I'm sure they know what they're doing. Orion?" He turned to look up at the padawans, and Eliatra blinked in surprise as she realized he had to be Khvee.

"We're ready," Orion said just as calmly, though Eli knew he had to be as stunned as she was at Khvee's extreme change in appearance.

The four of them followed the two guards to a pair of speeders bearing the same insignia that marked their uniforms, and a short trip through the city—which proved to be just as beautiful up close as it had looked from afar—later found them finally within the palace, in a vast marble atrium lined on either side by towering pillars and set off at the end by a massive window, through which the last rays of the dying sunset illuminated a single large, empty throne. "The throne can turn to look through that window, out of which all of Theed can be seen," Austrina murmured to the padawans after the guards left them waiting in the chamber. "But rumor has it that the new Queen will prefer to see her kingdom in person rather than sheltered behind the walls of the palace."

"I don't blame her," Eliatra murmured back. "As beautiful as it all is, I would rather be outside than alone in this palace, if it's all this big."

A movement on the far end of the throne room caught their attention just then, and the four Jedi straightened to watch a tall figure striding toward them. "I must apologize for leaving you alone like this, Masters Jedi. I'm Tobias Samarn, the Captain of the Queen's Guard here in Theed. I trust you had a safe trip?" His bright red hair and the pale dusting of boyish freckles across his nose—not unlike the ones Orion sometimes had in the summertime—detracted slightly from the gravity of his status, though Eliatra noticed both his broad shoulders and muscled build that spoke of years of physical training, and the alert way his gray-blue eyes sparkled as he watched them.

Khvee bowed to him. "Our trip was uneventful, if long, Captain. I hope you'll excuse any weariness we may show—I promise you we will be more alert tomorrow."

Captain Samarn grinned, and Eliatra liked him already. "Then you'll appreciate the quarters where you'll be staying. They're nearly as nice as the Queen's own, and we of Theed pride ourselves on providing excellent hospitality for our guests. In the meantime, however, your names?"

"Oh—excuse us," Austrina said apologetically. "I am Master Austrina Lelovare, that's Master Khvee Niltrei, and these are our padawans, Eliatra Sabre and Orion Rivalen."

Samarn gave the padawans a scrutinizing look. "You two are up for something of this caliber? The very reason you're here is in case the Kharryaksri show up, and from what I've heard, they're no pushovers."

"Neither are we," Eliatra said confidently, meeting his gaze. "You might be surprised at what we've survived recently."

_He might be surprised? _I'm_ surprised at what we're surviving lately,_ Orion remarked wryly to her through the Force, making Eli bite her tongue to keep from grinning at what, to the Captain, would seem like nothing.

"Good," said Samarn. "As long as you're prepared, I trust you to give all you have to protecting Princess Kadela. Speaking of which, she should meet you tonight." He lifted his wrist, on which was strapped a small comm device, tapped a few buttons on it, and crossed his arms. "She should be here any minute."

Just then, a door on the far right of the room that had been hidden behind the columns opened to reveal a tall woman in a floor-length sage-green dress elaborately worked with tiny, sparkling beads and long, elegantly draping sleeves. A simple beaded headdress hung over her forehead and weaved through the intricate braids in her dark brunette hair. The four handmaidens accompanying her were dressed in darker green robes with hoods that overshadowed their faces, making their identities a mystery. The Princess smiled joyfully as she approached the Jedi, her steps hastening to meet them. "You came! Captain Samarn was worried that you might have been imposters—for good reason, of course—but I was sure you were the genuine thing. I'm so pleased to know you'll be here during the Coronation; I would hate for anyone to get hurt by these assassins."

Eliatra was so taken aback by her rapid delivery and decidedly un-Princesslike personality that she nearly missed Austrina and Khvee's respectful bows, and she hurried to do likewise, then kicked Orion in the ankle when she heard his quiet snicker beside her. "We are honored to meet your Highness," Khvee said, unmindful of the padawans behind him. "I hope you'll do everything in your power to help us protect you the best we can."

"You may be assured we will," Kadela said simply, her dark eyes sparkling. "I also hope that you will take some time to explore Naboo's many wonders while you are here."

"While our first priority is to keep you safe, we'll take your suggestion into consideration," Austrina replied. Eliatra had a feeling this meant, in Master-speak, "no," but refrained from saying anything.

"Unless you had anything more to add, my Lady," Samarn said, stepping forward and looking toward Kadela, "I believe our guests would like to retire to their bedchambers. They've had a long journey here."

"Oh, of course. I would hate to keep you here. Thank you for coming, Masters Jedi, and I hope to see you all in the morning." She turned, her gown swishing around her feet, and left the way she had come, her handmaidens silently flanking her.

Samarn watched her go, looking almost bemused, and turned to the Jedi. "I'll take you to your chambers. I've had a couple of Guardsmen go to fetch your things from your ship, so you should have everything you'll need for the morning."

He escorted them to their rooms, two private suites near the Queen's rooms: one for Orion and Khvee, and the other for Eliatra and Austrina. Eliatra could hardly keep from staring at the size of their suite, which seemed as large as the entire girls' dormitory wing back at the Academy. Richly furnished draperies, tables, chairs, and even a polished keyboard instrument decorated the room, while two doors—one on either side—promised more to come. She left Austrina to sort through their pile of luggage and wandered over to the keyboard, which at first glance looked almost too ornamental to be anything more than a decoration. She hesitantly pushed down on one of the smooth ivory keys and hastily snatched back her hand as the thing sang a note. Austrina glanced over at her, the corner of her mouth twitching. "I see you've found an oniap," she remarked.

"Sorry. I didn't know—"

"Don't worry. The room's soundproof, so until the Princess comes over to tell us to quiet down, I'm sure you can play with it all you want." She smiled and went back to emptying one of the footlockers that held their formal attire.

With this reassurance, Eliatra sat down on the ornately carved mahogany bench and pressed a black key instead. The oniap sang another note, this one a different tone from the last, and for the next fifteen minutes she contented herself with trying to draw a recognizable tune from the instrument, until a huge yawn disrupted her concentration.

"You can say that again," Austrina commented, yawning widely herself and standing upright to stretch.

Eliatra stood with one wistful glance back at the oniap. "Wouldn't it be nice to have something like this back at the academy?"

"Only if you can convince the Council that it's useful, and frankly I don't see how it would aid your training," her master replied dryly.

Eli grinned. "Fine control of the Force. You could teach padawans how to play it with their minds."

"Isn't it hard enough to play it with your fingers? I say it's time for bed. Do you want the east room or the west one?" She motioned toward the doors on either side of the room.

"East." Eliatra yawned again and started toward her room, more concerned with getting a good night's rest than the events of the days to come.

----------

After breakfast the next morning, during which Orion ate a remarkable amount of food, the Jedi, the Guard, and the Princess met in the throne room to discuss the day's plans. Since the Coronation wouldn't begin until the next day, officially there was little to do, but the Jedi would still have their work cut out for them that day.

"It's especially important that we _ensure_ we have everything covered during the Coronation. That's why we need you in the city today, to overlook our safety measures and see if there's anything more you can do before the event begins," Captain Samarn was saying.

"If it's not too much of an inconvenience, would it be possible for me to go out into the countryside today?" Kadela asked mildly, the first thing she'd said in the conversation so far.

Samarn hesitated. "My Lady, we need the Jedi—"

"I don't—" Austrina started.

"We could go!" Eliatra suggested quickly, suspecting that a day in the countryside would be more entertaining than spending the day going over security measures. "Couldn't we, Orion?"

Orion was staring out the window with a slightly glazed-over expression, and didn't appear to hear what she'd said. Eliatra elbowed him in the side, and he yelped, jumping away from her. "I didn't do it!"

Eliatra sighed and continued speaking while the others looked on. "We could protect the Princess, Captain. Orion and I are experienced enough to handle almost anything out there."

"We are?" Orion coughed and shifted to the side when Eliatra shot him a glare. "I mean, of course we are! Orion Rivalen at your service, your Highness." He smiled charmingly and bowed to Kadela, who couldn't hold back a grin.

"I suppose…" Khvee consented grudgingly, glancing at Samarn. "As long as you believe she will be safe with them, Captain."

Samarn glanced at the padawans, then nodded approvingly. "You are a better judge of their skills than I, Master Niltrei. If you are comfortable with them as her bodyguards, then I will be too."

"That's settled, then," Kadela said happily, clasping her hands together. "We'll meet you at the stables in ten minutes. Captain, please see that they are escorted down there?"

"The _stables_?" Orion muttered incredulously to Eliatra as a Guard led them out of the throne room. "What did you volunteer us for, mucking out a bunch of stalls?"

"If you'd been paying _attention_," Eli hissed back, "You would have noticed that we're escorting the Princess out to the countryside. She's probably bored with being stuck in the palace all the time."

"But the stables?" Orion repeated, still not looking entirely convinced. "Couldn't she just take a nice landspeeder out there?"

"Maybe they keep their speeders in the stable," Eliatra replied crossly as they arrived at a large outbuilding that bore a sign with the words, "Theed Royal Stables" and beneath, in smaller letters, "No Trespassing. Reserved for the Queen's Herds." A shrill whinny from somewhere inside the tall stone building reached their ears, making Eliatra wonder exactly what was inside.

She didn't have to wonder long. The Princess, dressed today in a gown the color of spun gold and accompanied by her handmaidens in complementing silver robes, approached them, her face glowing with happiness. "I don't suppose you've ridden before?" she asked as they drew near.

"Not exactly," Eliatra answered, doubting her experience on the speeder on Coruscant with Orion in the driver's seat counted.

"That's alright. It's quite simple, once you get the hang of it," Kadela said brightly.

"So's dueling with lightsabers, and it only took me five years to get the hang of that," Orion muttered in Eli's ear, and only grinned when she shot him an irritable look.

"They should be getting our mounts ready now," the Princess continued as she swept past them to look through the narrow opening in the two large doors at the front of the stable. "Ah, yes!" She stepped back, and the doors slid wide open to reveal a gaping entryway, through which several grooms led a number of strange-looking, delicate white creatures. "These are gualamas, one of the prides and joy of the Royal Stables," Kadela announced, stroking the neck of the nearest one. "Our other pride and joy are the guarlaras, but they're out in the mountain pastures this week. However, you might get to see some of them while we're out today. In the meantime, we'll be riding the gualamas."

Eliatra surveyed the odd-looking creatures a little apprehensively. Each was a fine-boned horse-like quadruped with a long, wedge-shaped muzzle and two short tusks that protruded down from the side of the mouth. Two slender ivory horns jutted from the crown of the head and curved forward over large, curious blue eyes on either side of their head. Short ears just behind the horns swiveled back and forth curiously as they took in their surroundings, and a long, bony tail covered in silky silvery-white hair and lengthening to a long tuft on the end arched upright over their back, giving them an alert appearance. Perhaps the most curious thing about them was their feet: each delicate leg ended in lengthy white hair that nearly covered four clawed toes that splayed on the ground when they stood, and pulled together when they lifted a foot. Despite their fragile appearance, each gualama—none of whom stood much taller at the shoulder than the top of Eliatra's head—bore a saddle and a bejeweled bridle, and the Princess mounted the nearest one with the ease of long practice and settled herself into the sidesaddle while her handmaidens followed suit. The remaining two were led over to Orion and Eliatra, who noted with relief that their own mounts were fitted with normal saddles. Taking a deep breath, Eliatra hefted her left leg to the dangling stirrup attached to the saddle, grabbed the front and back of the seat, and hauled herself over the animal's back. It shifted beneath her the moment she sat down and she grabbed for the reins, which were still being patiently held by the gualama's attendant. Glancing over, she noticed Orion flail awkwardly before managing to slide into the saddle, looking only slightly embarrassed. He took the reins and glanced over at Kadela. "Easy, you say?"

The Princess laughed. "Like I said, it takes a little getting used to. You'll settle in once we start moving."

The seven riders started on their way out of the city, the Princess leading the way flanked on either side by two handmaidens while the other two and the padawans trailed behind. The gualamas were sure-footed and swift movers, and they soon found themselves outside the towering gates that guarded Theed's entrance. The rolling hills that Eliatra had spotted the night before from their ship's viewport now seemed to glow with their own emerald brilliance, sparkling with dew that hadn't yet dried beneath the morning sun. Without warning, Princess Kadela spurred her gualama into a fast lope, motivating the rest to do the same. Eliatra leaned back to avoid being pitched forward over her mount's head by its rapid, jarring gait, and immediately found it easier to keep her balance. Beside her, Orion was grimly hanging on to the short tuft of mane that lined his gualama's neck. Eliatra looked forward to make sure that the Princess was still alright—she was—and looked back at Orion. "Lean back!" she shouted over the rhythmic thud of hoof beats on the ground beneath them. Orion shot her a reproachful look but leaned back anyway, bouncing for a few seconds before finding his seating. "Better?" she yelled hopefully. He nodded, grinned, then leaned forward and dug his heels into his gualama's sides. It let out a high-pitched squeal and bolted forward, leaving Eliatra at the tail end of the pack. "Oh, that's nice," she muttered, and spurred her own mount faster to catch up with them.

They ran until Theed's walls disappeared into the distance behind the vast meadows and they reached a valley in the foothills of the mountains. Cool, fresh air, untainted by city smells, filled her lungs and invigorated her as she rode with the rest of the party at a sedate walk to cool down the weary gualamas. Round, tawny forms dotted the wide valley and grazed on the knee-deep grass, while a few smaller, lithe creatures patrolled the edges of the herds. "Shaaks and tusk-cats," the Princess explained when she saw the question in Eliatra's face. "We use the shaaks for their skins and their meat, and the tusk-cats naturally guard them. You might see a few in the city, as well. They're quite loyal creatures." She glanced over at the far slope of the valley and gasped delightedly, pointing. "Look! The guarlaras have come down the hillside!"

What looked like huge black horses grazed on the hillside opposite them. A few lifted their heads to watch the group curiously, and Eliatra could see sunlight glinting off ivory horns similar to those of the gualamas. As they rode closer, the Princess's mount lifted its head and let out a series of short, echoing neighs, which were repeated in kind by one of the guarlaras. The Princess lifted her hand and whistled sharply, a high note that rapidly descended to a lower pitch, then high again. The closest guarlara whinnied in return and started trotting toward them, followed a moment later by a tiny, slower-moving white creature. "Before I was elected Queen, I was one of the royal herd's mountain hostlers, in charge of watching over the guarlaras and gualamas," Kadela explained quietly to Eliatra. "This mare is my favorite, and it looks like she's just foaled." She pointed to the wobbly-legged silvery-white baby visible alongside the now-close guarlara, which was even larger than it had seemed on the distant slope. The huge black beast towered over them, its shoulders easily twice as tall as the gualamas', which now seemed miniature in comparison. Even so, its build was similar to their white mounts, right down to the shaggy, clawed feet. The mare stepped close to the Princess, and Eliatra tensed, noticing its long, sharp horns and prominent tusks, but all it did was sniff her outstretched hand and whicker softly.

"If you don't mind, my Lady," one of the handmaidens spoke up, "We're going to be late for the noon meal if we don't head back now."

"Let us be late. It won't hurt Captain Samarn to worry a bit," Kadela said good-naturedly, but she turned her gualama anyway to return the way they had come. Eliatra shifted to watch the powerful guarlara snort and turn away, her foal trotting along beside her as she returned to the rest of the herd. The padawan sighed and fell back to talk to Orion, who had somehow managed to sit sidesaddle on his mount, but was still looking somewhat uncomfortable. "Sorry," she said, starting to feel bad about having dragged him into the excursion.

He glanced over at her in surprise. "About what?"

"This. The ride. You don't really look like you're enjoying it."

He shrugged. "There's no need to feel sorry. I'd rather two days of this than in hour in those damned dress robes…" He made a face.

Eliatra couldn't help laughing. "I'm afraid you won't be able to get out of wearing the dress robes, but at least you won't have to wear them today."

"Wanna bet?"

She rolled her eyes. "Just be glad you're not the Queen. Think about it—she has to wear those ridiculously ornate gowns every day."

"Yes," Orion said reasonably, "but that's her _job_. My job is to be a Jedi, and nowhere in that job description do I see 'Must wear dress robes.'"

"A man of simple tastes," she teased.

"At least, when it comes to clothes," he amended. "With most other things, though, I'm a bit more picky." He grinned roguishly and winked at her, then rode ahead to take over flanking the Princess for one of the handmaidens. Eliatra just stared after him, once more caught completely off guard by his remark. What had that meant, and _why_, she wondered, did he always have to be so cryptic?


	16. A Proposition

**A/N:** Despite my best efforts, I don't own Star Wars. Review this or I will send my elite squad of sword-wielding alpacas after you. Hiiiiyah!

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**Chapter Sixteen: A Proposition**

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Pale sunlight filtered through the delicate lace curtains over Eliatra's bedroom window the next morning. She blinked groggily for a moment, then turned over and was about to go back to sleep when there was a sharp rap on the door. She groaned by way of answer.

Austrina poked her head in the door. Eli could almost feel the cheerfulness radiating off her. "Bit late to be in bed still, isn't it?"

Eliatra managed to locate her wrist chrono beneath the bedcovers and studied its display briefly. "It's not even six… I though we were supposed to meet for breakfast at eight."

"There are a lot of preparations to finish before the opening ceremony tonight. Captain Samarn wants to meet with us before breakfast to go over security procedures."

Seeing that arguing was useless, Eliatra sat up in bed and promptly winced. Her ride the day before had exercised rarely used muscles, which now ached in protest. The prospect of wearing unsteady, high-heeled shoes with her ballgown didn't improve her outlook on the day. "Please tell me we don't have to run anywhere today," she muttered as she sat up and rubbed her face.

"That," said Austrina pointedly, "depends on how much we can get done in the little time we have." She glanced down at her own wrist chrono. "I'd better make sure the boys are getting up."

Eli watched her go and smiled a little as she stood and stretched. If Orion was anything like as tired as she had been after yesterday, it would take a considerable effort to wake him up. He was almost as well known for his morning sluggishness as he was for his appetite.

Sure enough, Orion looked like he was still asleep when Eliatra met the other Jedi in the hall outside their rooms. Half of his shaggy hair was sticking straight up and his eyes were nearly closed, his head nodding forward in slumber. He didn't flinch when Eli poked him in the arm, but muttered something incomprehensible. She grinned and reached up to smooth his wayward hair.

Khvee, already cloaked in his human guise, gave her a wry look. "What did you do to him yesterday, Eliatra? The only way I could get him out of bed was by mentioning breakfast."

Orion stirred a little at this. "Mm'ungee… buss turly gepp."

Austrina chuckled. "We may have discovered a new language."

"Beffst brr mmkuperr hizz," Orion muttered as they started down the hall.

Captain Samarn was already sitting at the long table laid out in a smaller chamber off one of the foyers. A pile of datapads and large sheets of paper sprawled across the surface of the table, edges curling and half slipping off the table in disarray. Samarn stood when the Jedi entered, and waved at the table laden with the daunting pile. "I must thank you for rising so early in the morning," Samarn said graciously, taking his seat again. "We weren't able to accomplish as much yesterday as I'd hoped, so we'll have to work harder today to ensure nothing is compromised."

Eliatra approached the table, watching Orion out of the corner of her eye. He had brightened when they had first entered the room, but now sagged in disappointment at the lack of food on the table and shuffled dejectedly across the room to a chair. The other Jedi bowed to Samarn before sitting down, and Eliatra pulled one of the nearest sheets of paper closer to her. Lines sprawling across it appeared to be plans of the palace, marked with tiny notations of dimension or direction.

"As you can see," the captain continued, "this is what remains of the parts of the palace that will need security details. We have already stationed the Royal Guard at key points in other locations, but we need your expert opinion for these remaining areas." He pulled one of the plans close and waved over a section of a wide open area in the drawing. "You can see that there is ample potential here for assassins. The Princess will be here during the actual coronation—" he jabbed a highlighted spot in the center of the paper, "but for ceremony purposes, she can't have any guards stationed directly near her. The only people in her proximity will be her handmaidens and the Master of the Ceremony, with the crowd surrounding the dais. I'm afraid the balconies surrounding the coronation plaza would be an all too easy route for an assassin to take. We'll station guards at all entrances, but we simply don't have enough to regulate every area at every moment during the ceremony." He rubbed his forehead wearily.

Khvee rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Would it be permissible for us to be on the dais during the ceremony?"

Samarn shook his head. "You can't. Tradition dictates the Princess must be solitary when she is crowned as a symbol of strength and unity. Having armed forces around her during the coronation will imply she is weak and afraid, rather than the powerful leader the people need her to be. Even the handmaidens are only allowed after they have been anointed in a special ritual and instructed to remain on the outer edge of the dais, circling the Princess as the crown circles her head." Despite his no-nonsense nature, it was apparent the captain had a certain degree of respect for the old traditions.

"What do the handmaidens know about defense?" Austrina asked.

"A little. They are mostly trained in the art of hand-to-hand combat so they can defend the Princess should the occasion present itself, but they are still limited in what they can do without weapons. They are mostly chosen for their physical likeness to the Princess."

"What about me?" Eliatra met Samarn's curious gaze. "I could replace one of the handmaidens. I'm almost as tall as the Princess, so I doubt anyone would notice the difference."

The captain gave her a long, appraising look, his blue eyes thoughtful. "You're right. The handmaidens will wear hoods and long robes during the ceremony, so it would be easy to disguise your appearance. You could even hide your lightsaber inside a sleeve."

Orion surprised them by suddenly speaking coherently. "_You're_ going to be the only thing standing between Kadela and a lethal blaster bolt?" he asked incredulously.

Austrina seemed to hold the same sentiments. "I'm not sure you have the necessary abilities, Eli…"

"I think she could do it." Khvee gave Eliatra a measuring look and nodded in approval. "Remember Coruscant, Austrina?"

Eliatra's Master shifted in discomfort. "Yes, but…"

Captain Samarn cleared his throat. "Is she an able fighter?"

"Yes," Austrina said with certainty, after a brief moment of hesitation.

"And willing to put her life on the line for the Princess, should it be required of her?"

"Yes," Eliatra said firmly. Orion shot her an alarmed look.

"Then she will act as a guardian of the Princess during the ceremony." Samarn nodded with finality. "Now, on to the ballroom…"

Orion's Force-voice distracted her from the rest of Samarn's security details. _Do you realize how much danger you're putting yourself in?_

_Do you realize what being a Jedi is all about?_ She retorted.

_There are better ways to protect her! When you're down there, you'll basically be blind to… to everything! You'll be as vulnerable as a newborn Kath pup!_

She sat up a little straighter and shot him a hard stare. _I have my lightsaber, and I have the Force… as well as the training I've had since before I can remember. I'm hardly vulnerable!_

_Eli, when you're down there, I can't… there won't be anyone to… _

_You're _afraid_ for me, aren't you?_

He suddenly pounded the table, eyes blazing. "Yes!" Everyone fell silent and stared at him, startled by the sudden outburst.

"Orion?" Khvee asked cautiously.

Seeming to realize what he'd done, Orion coughed and glanced away, fighting the tinge of pink creeping up his neck. "I mean, that's an excellent point," he stuttered after a moment. "Don't you agree, Captain Sam, uh, Samarn?"

The Captain looked dubious. "I didn't know you felt so strongly about chandeliers, Padawan."

Orion assumed a convincing smile. "I was just concerned about the possibility of hidden devices mounted on the fixtures, Captain."

"That's a good point, and one that we should check for." Samarn tapped something into a datapad and leaned over the blueprints to make several notes. Orion leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms while studiously avoiding Eliatra's gaze. She watched him ignoring her for a long moment and wondered at his reaction. He was afraid of her being hurt out there. A natural reaction, something to be expected from a friend, she told herself…but something gave her the impression there was more to it than that.

----------

Orion decided to talk to her again after the Jedi had had a private breakfast in a small dining room and Eliatra was about to leave with Austrina to speak with the Princess about the dais arrangements for the next day. The lanky padawan caught her arm as she moved to follow their Masters out the door, and she stopped and turned to look up at him. A part of her didn't begrudge his effort to protect her, but she still couldn't resist a scowl at his implication that she might not be able enough for this responsibility.

"Eli…" He hesitated, trying to come up with the right words.

She sighed impatiently. "Why don't you want me to do this, Orion?"

"Look, I'm sure there are other people who could do this—there are female members of the Guard who could just as easily go—"

"No. This is what we're _here_ for. How much good are we going to do by just standing on the sidelines and supervising?"

"They can't ask you to do this."

"That's why I _volunteered._" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Or can't you accept the fact that I'm willing to step up and act like a Jedi?"

"That's not what I meant! Eli, you're putting your life on the line where someone better qualified could—"

"You didn't seem to feel that way on Coruscant!"

He opened his mouth and shut it just as quickly. His gaze dropped to the floor as he took a step back, shoulders sagging. "Then if that's the way it is, I won't stop you."

"Fine," Eliatra spat, her heart pounding. She turned on her heel and strode out of the room, boots clicking on the stone floor. She never would have expected Orion—of all people!—to underestimate her abilities. She was still fuming when she ran into Austrina outside the throne room.

Her Master noted her flushed appearance and raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

Eliatra shook her head, unwilling to discuss the matter. "It's nothing."

"You don't get upset over nothing very often."

"It's just…"

The doors swung open just then and a woman dressed in a flowing emerald gown greeted them. "The Princess is ready to meet with you now."

Kadela was dressed this morning in a pale blue ensemble that glittered from a distance like early morning dew, with her handmaidens flanking her in complementing midnight-blue robes. Captain Samarn was standing to the side, his hands clasped. He nodded to the two Jedi as they entered. Khvee—and presumably Orion—were off with another Guard officer, touring the plaza where the crowning ceremony would be held. Austrina and Eliatra bowed to the Princess as she nodded regally to them. "I understand that you have a proposition for me and my handmaidens?" she asked curiously.

Austrina glanced back at Eliatra, and the padawan realized she was expected to speak. "Yes, we do," she said, stepping forward. "It's about your coronation tomorrow. I'm sure Captain Samarn has told you of the security risks that will surely be present at the ceremony, but he also told us that you can't have any guards on the platform when you're being crowned." When Kadela nodded her affirmation, Eliatra continued. "So, my idea was for me to take the place of one of your handmaidens during the ceremony. That way, you'll have a Jedi close to you for security, but no one has to know."

The Princess touched her chin contemplatively. "An interesting idea, Padawan. But are you so sure the risk is too great for my handmaidens to handle? They have received extensive training in unarmed combat, you know."

"That's just the thing," Eliatra replied earnestly. "If there is anyone looking to kidnap you, Princess—or worse—they certainly won't be unarmed. If they have a blaster or even a lightsaber, there is a good chance your handmaidens won't be enough. If I'm nearby, I might be able to protect you faster than any guards."

"What do you think, Tobias?" Kadela glanced over at Samarn. "You should know these things better than I."

"I think it cannot hurt, Princess," the Captain said.

"You will have to go through the necessary cleansing rituals, of course," Kadela said. "But if you think it is a good measure of security, then I am in full support of the idea. One of my handmaidens will find you this evening to begin the preparations."

"Thank you, Princess," Eliatra replied, bowing again.

Austrina followed suit, stepping forward to speak. "If there is nothing else you need us for right now, we will rejoin Master Khvee to see what else we can do to keep you safe while we are here."

"Very well. I look forward to seeing you at the ball tonight." Kadela gave them a beautiful smile as they bowed one last time and left the throne room.

Austrina gave Eliatra a sideways glance as they made their way through the palace to the outer coronation plaza. "I do hope you realize how dangerous this may be, Eliatra. Just because you survived a handful of Sith on Coruscant doesn't mean you'll be so lucky a second time."

Eliatra gave her a wry smile. "I thought you always said there wasn't luck, just the Force."

Austrina rolled her eyes. "Leave it to you to remember what I say at the most inconvenient times. I just want you to be safe during the coronation. I have a bad feeling about it…"

"Isn't the Princess's safety more important?"

This time a fleeting look of worry crossed her Master's face. "Some things are beyond our knowledge, Eliatra. If someone does try to get the Princess during the ceremony, I think they will be more likely to keep her alive in the hopes of a ransom. What I fear, however, is that they will be less merciful to her handmaidens or protectors. In the event that something does happen, it will be best for you to simply stave off whatever attacks there are for as long as you can while waiting for reinforcements. What you _shouldn't_ do," here she gave her padawan a stern look, "is try to manage the whole situation yourself."

Eliatra winced guiltily. Admittedly, two padawans trying to rescue someone from an underground Sith base without telling anyone where they were was somewhat foolhardy, but they _had_ survived. Even if that survival had been a close thing.

They pushed through a set of broad doors and arrived on a wide balcony that looked out over what first seemed to be an enormous chasm. Eliatra stepped closer to the wrought-metal railing to look out and found that it wasn't a chasm, but a vast avenue framed by row upon row of amphitheatre-like seating that rose above on either side. Orderly columns holding balconies similar to the one they were standing on were placed at increments along the amphitheatre. Directly below was the broad dais, surrounded by steps made of an alabaster-white material. There were already crews on hoverlifts busily decking the balconies and walls with decorative banners, while a small group of people on the dais below was discussing something quite animatedly.

"Are you coming?" Austrina was standing at the left side of the balcony, which Eliatra now noticed was the top of a set of stairs leading down to the dais.

"Yeah," she replied, hurrying to follow. They took the stairs two at a time, following their curve down to the sunlit stage. Eliatra immediately spotted Khvee in human guise talking to a man in Guard uniform, but no Orion. She was trying to decide if not seeing him was a good thing or a bad thing when Khvee noticed them and came over.

"There you are. How did your meeting with Princess Kadela go?"

"Just fine," Austrina said. "She was supportive of the idea. How are things coming here?"

"They're going well, I think. Captain Samarn was right about the balconies, and the amphitheatre seating is just as risky—but we'll post as many guards as we can spare to watch what they can, and the rest will have to take the ground level." He pointed at the broad avenue that started at the foot of the dais steps. "Although I am relieved that we'll be able to post Eliatra here with the Queen."

"Where is Orion?" Austrina echoed Eliatra's own thoughts, right down to the poorly disguised note of worry in her voice.

Khvee smiled reassuringly. "You needn't be concerned. He left a few minutes ago with one of the Princess's handmaidens to gauge her level of combat expertise."

_Typical,_ Eliatra thought. He was probably just weaseling out of the more lackluster security duty. She narrowed her eyes and gazed out at the bustling workers. Two could play at this game.

"…Probably a good idea," Austrina was saying. "It will be good to take as many variables out of the equation as we can."

"I could help him," Eli said casually. "I have a good eye for that sort of thing."

Her Master was already distracted by a protocol droid that had approached them and started beeping and chattering anxiously. "Yes, go ahead," she said, waving absently. "Be sure you come back to the dining chamber for lunch."

Eliatra wasted no time in departing them and following the thread of Orion-tinged Force residue she could make out through the crowd. Her path led her off the dais and through a small service corridor in a wall at the side of the amphitheater, which made a series of turns and twists before ending at a tall, narrow staircase. She climbed the steps two at a time, pushed through the door at the top, and stopped in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at the scene before her. There, in the center of a circular indoor courtyard, Orion was embracing one of the robed handmaidens from behind, his tall frame overshadowing her slighter one.


	17. Promenade

**A/N:** Mmmmyes. I still haven't decided if I'm going to keep this chapter or not. It's so... so... FLUFFY!!!! I'm sorry. Normally I don't endulge in this kind of thing but... but... -tear- They just wouldn't have it any other way! Eli and Orion, that is. Please leave a review about whether you think it works or not...

And I still don't own Star Wars.

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**Chapter Seventeen: Promenade**

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Eliatra stood frozen, quite unwilling to believe her eyes. Was this Orion, _her_ Orion, doing something she had never imagined nor hoped to see him doing? The sight was almost unbearable: he bent over her shoulder from behind, his arms wrapped around her. At this angle she was almost completely hidden behind him, but Eliatra didn't miss the glint of her copper-tinged black curls or her milky white complexion tinged with a rosy blush. He murmured something in her ear and she giggled lightly, eliciting a boyish grin on his face as he began to straighten up. A surge of bitter spite rose in her throat and she turned quickly from the entrance, letting the door slam on her heels as she fled back the way she had come. After everything she had put up with today, now he had the nerve to go and do this?

Somehow she took a wrong turn down one of the twisting corridors and found herself wandering through unfamiliar territory. Scuffed service hallways gave way to alabaster-white stone walls that held no clue to where she was. At last her path was halted by a set of double doors, which she pushed through without caring what lay behind them—and stopped. A lift! The room holding it was tiny and bare-walled, but that didn't matter. The door opened the moment she punched the button and she stepped in. There were only two buttons inside the lift, 'up' and 'down.' She hit 'up' and hoped for the best.

The cramped compartment rose smoothly for what seemed forever before sliding open again onto yet another short corridor, this one decorated on either wall with filigreed woodwork depicting elaborate scenes of wildlife and intricately worked flowers. She paused at the equally ornate wooden doors before pushing them open. An explosion of sunlight, warm and inviting, struck her face, making her blink before her eyes adjusted to the wonders before her. A carpet of ferns, oddly out of place in the spotless palace, blanketed the floor of the small room. Short, leafy trees drooping with plate-sized blossoms in hues of crimson and tangerine nestled among the ferns. The distant burbling of water reached her ears from somewhere in the middle of a grove of the flowering trees. The floor was moist, aromatic soil rather than the stone tiles common to the rest of the palace. Eliatra stepped slowly past the doorway, letting the wave of humid air settle comfortably over her. Broad windows that made up the other three walls of the room gave a view of the distant hills and forests, while showing the more immediate rivers and waterfalls directly below—_far_ below—the tower she seemed to be in. Who had placed this tiny piece of jungle in the middle of the palace of Theed?

Just then her commlink rang shrilly, penetrating the peaceful silence like a knife. Eliatra sighed and lifted it to her lips. "Hello."

"Eli?" Orion's voice, sounding curious and—could it be?—worried, came slightly muffled across the connection. "Where are you?"

She stifled the impulse to grind the comm under her boot and didn't say anything, wondering if she _should_ say anything. It would serve him right to be worried for her.

"Eli? C'mon, I know you're there." A pause. "Austrina said you told her you'd be with me."

"Well, I'm not, am I?" she said acidly. The water was making her curious; still clutching the comm, she wandered over in the direction of the soft gurgling.

"What's the matter?" He sounded genuinely confused now. Typical. When she didn't speak, he ventured, "Is it about tomorrow? I thought… did Kadela turn down your idea?"

"It's not bloody about tomorrow!" Eliatra hissed into the comm, feeling her cheeks flush. She had nearly forgotten about that in light of this… this…

"Where are you?" He sighed. "We can work things out, Eli, I don't want you to—"

"Go work things out with your precious _handmaiden!_" she spat tempestuously, feeling like a child throwing a temper tantrum but at the same time oddly satisfied. "And don't strain yourself teaching her any _combat moves!_" She switched off the comm and shoved it fiercely in her pocket. The sensible part of her mind knew she was being completely unreasonable—knew that she really had no say over who Orion decided to consort with—but she couldn't help but feel betrayed that he would just start fondling this girl at the drop of a hat. Eliatra blew out a frustrated breath and plopped herself down on a knee-high boulder that was part of several ringing a small pool in the center of the grove. She had almost been looking forward to this mission before they had embarked on it, but now all she wanted was to go back home.

----------

Orion blinked at the small commlink resting mutely in his palm. It was rare for Eli to lash out in a fit of temper like this, and with that odd handmaiden comment, he couldn't quite chalk it up to 'that time of the month.' Jaydah—the handmaiden in question—watched him intently from beneath long, dark lashes that shaded her silver-gray eyes. She tactfully chose to remain silent while the padawan considered his predicament. Should he try to find his friend and reconcile things with her? Or simply leave her alone and hope that she would have cooled down by the time he ran into her again? The uneasy feeling that Eliatra might try to cleave him in two with her lightsaber if she saw him right now made him lean toward the latter idea, much as he felt guilty for it.

He had only been correcting Jaydah's aim with a blaster when he'd felt a sudden spike of emotion in the Force and the door to the antechamber they'd been in had unexpectedly slammed shut a short while earlier. Granted, the copper-haired beauty _had_ been giggling and flirting like there was going to be no tomorrow, but _he_ certainly couldn't help that. Was it possible that Eliatra had seen them and misconstrued what they'd been doing? "Nah," he muttered aloud. She was too careful and too thoughtful for that. Surely she would have figured it out.

He shrugged, dropped the commlink back in his cloak pocket, and clasped his hands together as he faced Jaydah again. "Ready for that hand-to-hand bout you promised me?"

----------

Naboo's sun had passed its apex overhead and was starting to drop low in the sky by the time Eliatra found her way back to the palace main. Austrina was almost frantic with worry by the time her padawan entered the lobby that led to their suite of rooms. The older Jedi spotted her from the other side of the area and hurried over, trailed by a flock of servant women. "Where have you been? Never mind, we're going to be late for the ball. You need to get ready!"

"But…" Eliatra's concern that she hadn't even eaten lunch yet due to being lost was drowned as four of the women clustered around her and led her out of the lobby. Austrina returned to her room with the other two servants, leaving Eliatra adrift. "Where are we going?" she asked as they bustled her down the hall.

"To do your hair and makeup," explained the one by her right elbow, a middle-aged woman with jet-black hair and crows-feet at the corners of her eyes.

"Don't worry, your gown has already been prepared," added the woman behind her. "But we'll have to hurry if we're to get you in shape in time for the ball."

"But I-" They whisked her into a room lined with mirrors and basins and had her reclining in a seat by one of the basins almost before she realized what was happening. One of the servants pulled out the leather strap holding her hair in place and started rinsing the locks with brisk efficiency. Meanwhile, the other three stood at the ready with armloads of brushes, sponges, and tiny containers she could only guess held makeup. Eliatra sighed and sat still, closing her eyes against the tiny droplets of water that splashed up from the basin.

When they had finally finished dressing her and arranging her hair to their liking, they hurried her out a side corridor and escorted her into a small lobby to wait. The padawan watched them go and wondered what to do. She touched her face gingerly, feeling like they had completely obscured her skin with several inches of makeup, and was surprised to find that it still _felt_ like her skin. She had no idea what her hair looked like—there hadn't been a mirror in sight during the preparation process—but decided they must have curled it because it fell in loose waves around her shoulders.

A man opened the wide double doors at the other end of the lobby and leaned in. "Lady? Are you ready to be escorted into the ballroom?"

Eliatra glanced around surreptitiously to see who he was talking to. Realizing that the room was empty, she flushed and nodded. "I'm ready." She patted her hidden lightsabers, secured inside her sleeves, as he stepped across the room and offered her his arm. Setting her hand on it lightly, they crossed the floor through the double doors, down a short corridor, and through another set of doors. Golden light flooded the room and the murmur of conversation pulsed below on the vast floor. Eliatra paused at the top of the wide, curving staircase as her escort stepped away and bowed to her. Resisting the urge to bow back, Eliatra took a deep breath and descended the stairs.

----------

Orion tugged at his collar. It itched uncomfortably and was _hot_—whose idea was it to bundle up in layers of thick, expensive fabric when you were surrounded by other people? He noticed a gown-clad woman waving an ornate fan at her face and considered stealing it somehow, then decided against it. Someone would probably tell him it didn't match his robes and take it away.

Lounging against a pillar, he surveyed the ballroom from his station a little ways from the foot of the staircase. He had been here for an hour, since after the guests had begun to fill the ballroom floor, and so far there had been no indication of anything out of the ordinary. He began to envision a nice, cold, tall glass of water. With ice cubes floating in it, clinking against the sides of the glass, cool against his lips—

There was a flurry of movement at the top of the staircase. Someone was arriving from the top entrance, which was really the way to go if you wanted to make a big deal out of it, because _everyone_ could see you. It wasn't the queen though, because she was alone, but there was something familiar about the long red dress she was wearing. He stepped away from the pillar and moved closer to get a better look as the woman seemed to float down the steps. Her long, softly glowing brunette hair flowed down over her shoulders in loose waves, seeming brushed with gold where it reflected the light. Her skin—bared neck and shoulders above the top of her strapless gown and loose, draping sleeves—seemed to exude its own tawny glow, not washed-out ivory like so many of the women already on the dance floor. As she drew ever closer, he noticed the way the gown whispered across the marble steps, draped from her hips, hugged her slender waist, and followed the full curve of her chest. She paused a little ways up to survey the ballroom, delicate chin lifted and ruby lips just parted in a thoughtful, familiar way as her dark eyes passed over the milling crowd of nobility before lowering demurely to descend once more. Something nagged the back of Orion's mind, but he pushed it away as he moved closer to the foot of the staircase, lingering just inside the edge of the crowd near the steps. A silvery melody weaved through the din and hovered overhead—the orchestra had finally finished warming up—and, slowly, the crowd thinned as couples started to pair up. Orion suddenly found himself out in the open, no longer shielded by other people, and in plain sight of—

----------

Eliatra, having looked over the ballroom and seen no one familiar—where _did_ Austrina go?—finished making her way down and paused again at the foot of the stairs, wondering where to start. Music glittered and whirled in the background, seeming to enchant the crowd as they began to dance, matching its melody with dipping of partners and twirling of full skirts across the floor. Except for one man, standing near the staircase alone. Eliatra took him in with a single glance, noting first the stately robes in deep azure blue and regal green with sashing and trim in metallic gold thread, then the neatly combed jet-black hair that arced rebelliously over his forehead, not quite to his eyes—_blue_ eyes—

----------

Orion blinked. "Eli?" This was Eli? It couldn't be—this, this was some noblewoman, some high-bred lady, some golden _princess_ who had deigned to come down to his level—but it was. His mind was still reeling from, well, her _beauty_. It had to be a dream, he decided. He was hallucinating due to hunger, and imagining that his best friend was somehow a goddess and was standing right in front of him, her deep brown eyes reflecting surprise and amusement. If it was _really_ Eli, his subconscious determined, by now she would have marched over and slapped him. Right? Right. He blinked again and shook his head.

She was still standing there.

Well, there went that theory.

----------

"Orion?" He seemed to be reeling in shock, shaking his head as though he couldn't quite believe his eyes. She wasn't sure she could believe hers, either. Someone had managed to wrestle him into dress robes and clean him up, even partly taming his unruly hair. He almost resembled the many noblemen of Theed spread throughout the ballroom, but she couldn't have mistaken his eyes for anyone's but his own. She took a few steps toward him, faltering as he continued to stand there. "Are you alright?"

----------

He wasn't, but there wasn't anything he could do about that now. He tried vainly to get a grip on himself. "You're goriful ton…hnngh." What? As if things weren't bad enough, his tongue had jumped ship too. What in space was _goriful_? Now he'd really messed things up. The orchestra switched seamlessly from the lively dance to a slower, sweeter melody that wafted through the air. Orion's brain kicked in—_finally_—and he asked her before he had quite realized what exactly he was doing. "Do you want to dance?"

----------

The question hung in the air expectantly, right along with Orion's outstretched hand hovering between them like he expected a bird to land on his wrist. She tilted her chin and took a breath. "I'd love to."


	18. A Rude Interruption

**A/N:** I don't own Star Wars. Don't sue me pleeeaaase!

I'm happy to finally have this written up. Though I'll apologize for the rather rapid transition from mush to detective story... nonetheless, enjoy! Oh... and please please PLEASE review!! Let me know if I'm still going in the right direction on this... feedback is crucial guys!!

Peace out, Megan (Eliatra)

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**Chapter Eighteen: A Rude Interruption**

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Orion drew a deep breath and took a step forward to close the distance between them, suddenly aware of his heart pounding in his ears and the beads of sweat collecting in his palms. Trembling, he clasped Eliatra's hand in his own, rested the other on the satin-clad curve of her waist, and grinned bravely down at her. He felt like his knees might give out. _It's just a dance. Just a dance. Just a…_

"…dance?" She was watching him with a little wry smile, one eyebrow delicately arched. "Orion?" She prodded again.

He realized belatedly that everyone else was swirling around them to the music while they stood immobile on the dance floor. Wondering why he hadn't bothered to ask one of the all-too-helpful palace servants about the basics of the waltz, he stepped to the right and attempted to pull Eliatra after him in a half-circle sweep. She followed his lead with an enviable lightness, avoiding his toes despite the fact that his feet seemed independently determined to crush hers. After a few minutes they had developed a sort of pattern—even if it wasn't the same waltz that the nobles were doing—and had relaxed to the point that Eli worked in a outward twirl as he released her with one hand, and swept back into his arms with the next beat of the music.

As she brushed up against his chest, one of his arms behind her shoulders to steady her, the music's tempo slowed to let the dancers catch their breath. Orion briefly wondered whether or not to let go of Eli—when had he become so indecisive?—until she lifted her hands and set them gently on his shoulders, the gesture necessarily drawing her closer to him. The only place for his hands seemed to be on her waist, so he set them there as carefully as possible and shuffled slowly to the shimmering melody.

Eliatra closed her eyes and swayed with him, drinking in the experience. A part of her was certain that this was no proper behavior for a Jedi, and even the lame excuse that this was just a dance did nothing to appease that certainty—but everything else told her that this, _this_ was happiness. A faint fragrance in the air, music all around them, and Orion holding her close: this was what she wanted, and the fluttering of her heart only buoyed her mood further. Her earlier frustration with him was all but forgotten in the joy of the moment, this indescribable sweetness seeming to cast away their troubles and bring to light new truths, new possibilities she'd never considered before.

_So does this mean I'm forgiven?_ Orion's Force voice was hopeful but his eyes twinkled as she glanced up, startled, to meet his gaze.

"Maybe," she teased quietly. "I'm not quite sure you've made it up to me yet."

"Oh?" He lifted a hand from her waist and touched a finger beneath her chin, thumb brushing the hollow beneath her lips. "What more do you want?"

Her pulse quickened at his caress and a thousand different answers spilled through her mind, none of them finding a way to her speechless tongue. Only one seemed right—the truth that had been haunting her these past months—and it was tempered by the teachings of generations of Jedi before her. _There is no emotion; there is peace._

The inexorable reality was that the Jedi code was ingrained into the deepest channels of her memory, the framework that supported her ideals, her beliefs, her entire way of life. It was above all else what she was sure of.

And it was wrong.

It was _wrong._

There _was_ emotion, heated and powerful and true, running through ever fiber in her body. Yet never before had she felt so peaceful. The cathartic realization that had just begun to dawn on her could never—_would_ never—fall within the confines of the Jedi code.

She blinked away a sudden unnoticed tear and drew a breath. "Only…"

He leaned close, bringing their faces to within mere inches from each other.

The word failed her. One small word. She tried again, willing it past her lips, willing him to understand. "Only…"

"Eli." It was nothing more than a breath on his lips, but it was all she heard, all she felt. His thumb traced her cheek, smearing the narrow trail of moisture that had crossed her cheekbone.

She lowered her hand from his shoulder to brush his fingers, oblivious to the sounds of the dance.

The Force sung urgently through her mind, striking a dissonant chord with the sweet quickening of her thoughts. Orion's eyes widened.

In the space of a single heartbeat, she found herself hurtling toward the ground, Orion clutching her shoulders and piling into her as they struck the marble floor. A red beam splashed angrily into the ground inches from her feet while shocked noblewomen screamed in panic. Eliatra shut her eyes and threw up an energy field around the two of them, deflecting a hail of shots determined to decimate them while they were down.

"Alright?" Orion gasped, disentangling himself from her gown and reaching for his lightsaber as he clambered to his feet, though it seemed their attacker had ceased firing on them.

"Alright," she agreed, accepting his hand up and wobbling a little unsteadily on her stiletto-heeled shoes. "Thanks."

"No problem." He winced and rubbed his elbow while squinting up at a shaded balcony directly across the room and about two stories up the vast wall. "I think they made off without us."

"I think," said Eliatra, "our cover is blown."

There was still a general pandemonium in the room despite the absence of blasterfire, and the magic of the moment was somehow gone as a shaken-looking orchestra peered out from behind instruments and music stands knocked askew. A gown-clad Austrina and still-disguised Khvee emerged from the milling crowd, the former looking harried and the latter looking unusually austere. "Were you hit?" Eliatra's master had to shout to be heard above the din in the ballroom as they approached.

Orion glanced quickly at Eli before shaking his head in reply. "We're fine. It came from up there." He pointed at the balcony while Khvee pulled out a small comm unit and relayed Orion's directions into it.

"How did they get past the guards?" Eli asked. Considering the great lengths Samarn had gone to in securing the rest of the palace, she was surprised their assailants had been able to gain access to such a high-priority room.

"More importantly, why were they shooting at us?" Orion added. "I thought we were here to protect Kadela."

"You can't protect her very well if you're dead, can you?" Khvee countered. "It's likely they were attempting to get a head start on tomorrow's proceedings. This isn't good, though." He sighed wearily. "The Captain was hoping the security measures would be simply precautionary, not necessary."

Samarn's voice crackled through Khvee's commlink. "Found three Guardsmen dead in the corridor behind the balcony, Niltrei. I'd like a couple of you to come up here while the other two keep an eye on the ballroom. I don't want anything happening while there's an uproar and we're distracted."

"That explains how they got in," said Austrina. "You'd better go, Khvee. I'll try to calm things down in here."

"I'll stay with her," Orion volunteered. Eli stared at him, but he waved her on toward the ballroom exit. "You'll want to be there in case you see anything that could prepare you for tomorrow."

She gave him one last confused glance before hurrying off after Khvee. The idea occurred to her that he might be afraid of a lecture from his master, but one look at Khvee's furrowed brow told her she had nothing to fear from him.

They arrived at the back corridor, where a cluster of uniformed Guardsmen initially hid the bodies from view, but as the Jedi approached, Eliatra could see them sprawled messily across the floor. There was no carbon scoring on the walls, but dark stains in their maroon coats hinted at the form of their demise.

"A melee weapon of some kind, and too quick for any of them to shoot," Samarn informed them. "A couple are bruised on the face, but we'll need the coroner to have a look for an full analysis."

Eliatra kneeled down by the nearest body, gathering her skirts to keep them from pooling over the corpse. A trickle of still-damp blood emerged from the corner of his mouth and bright bruises colored the left side of his jaw—not his neck, she noted. That meant a punch or a kick rather than strangulation. The stab wound was small and neat and went directly through the heart—there were, oddly enough, no slices or stabs on the rest of the body. Curious, she moved to check the others.

"Have you stepped up the patrols around the Princess's quarters?" Khvee asked.

"Of course. She's been informed that it's in her best interests to stay away from the ball tonight, unfortunately. We can't risk anything if security is compromised like this."

"Did you find the blaster that was used?" Eliatra asked, standing up after having examined the last body.

"Yes, not far from the balcony. It was one of the standard-issue weapons that all the Guardsmen carry."

"Probably one of theirs." Eli nodded at the corpses. "Whoever it was carried a sword, but only used it to finish them off. See how neat the stab wounds are? They're an unarmed combatant, and a well-trained one at that." She was simultaneously appalled at the ruthless nature of the killing—why take the further step to kill your opponent when he was already unconscious and no longer a threat to you?—and a little impressed by its brutal efficiency. The three guards, all of whom were no doubt highly trained, had been swiftly eliminated before they could even fire a blaster shot, much less call for help.

"Good observation," Khvee remarked. "That's probably how they escaped detection initially."

Samarn let out a frustrated sigh and was about to respond when his own comm let out a buzz of momentary static. "Sir, we've locked down the entire wing and searched the area, but all we've turned up are several servants and Handmaiden Jaydah Katar."

The Captain frowned slightly. "Bring the servants down to the west office for questioning. What's the handmaiden doing up here?"

"She says the Princess sent her to get one of the Jedi as an escort to the ball. We commed Princess Kadela and she verified that. Seems clear."

"Alright, then. Send a few Guardsmen with her to escort her back to the Princess's quarters. She won't be needing any Jedi at this rate."

"As you wish, Captain."

"Why don't you take the extra precaution to question the handmaiden as well, Captain?" Khvee questioned.

Samarn looked surprised. "We don't let just anybody become a handmaiden, you know. They're chosen especially by the Princess and swear their lives to serve her as long as she reigns over Naboo, sometimes longer, if they bond with her as friends. If any commit treason, they are assured a speedy death. There'd be no gain in deceiving her."

"If you're sure…"

"I am," Samarn replied assuredly. "Now, if you'll follow me, we'd best get down to the office. If our perpetrator is among the servants, I'd like to root him out as quickly as possible."

The two Jedi followed him down the lifts, through several stark hallways, and into a sparsely furnished, windowless room where several Guardsmen were waiting with a small group of distinctly nervous-looking servants. The two women of the five looked close to tears, the guards' harsh grip on their arms seeming unneccessary for their panicked states. Samarn noticed, and nodded curtly at the guards as the door shut behind the last people to enter the room. They released the servants, who huddled together with anxious glances at Samarn and the two Jedi. Eliatra felt distinctly out of place in her ballgown finery, but clasped her hands and tried to look like part of the group nonetheless.

Captain Samarn cleared his throat. "You five were discovered in the west ballroom wing on the same level as the balcony from which someone fired an attack on the ballroom. We have reason to believe at least one of you is the culprit."

The servants paled even more, if that was possible. "W-we didn't know nothin' about it, C-Captain," stuttered one of the men, an aging manservant with receding mouse-brown hair and crows' feet marking his years. "All's I heard was gunfire from the direction of the balconies. I didn't see nobody."

"He speaks for all of us," stated the younger man beside him, who was supporting one of the tearful women. "We are but simple servants, not homicidal madmen!"

Samarn opened his mouth to reply, but Khvee raised a palm to stop him. "Allow me," he said calmly. Stepping forward, he crossed his arms and stopped in front of the woman at the far right of the group. She cringed slightly at his direct gaze, but when he gave her a kind smile, she gingerly smiled back. He nodded slightly to her before moving on and doing the same to the other four servants, each meeting his eyes however reluctantly. At last he returned to Samarn, crossing his arms again. "I do not believe any of these individuals were associated with the shooting," he announced.

"Are you sure?" Samarn asked cautiously.

Khvee nodded impassively.

The Captain released a breath and motioned to the guards standing behind the group. "You may escort them back to their quarters for the night. I apologize to all of you for any trouble this may have caused you," he added to the servants as they started out the door, looking markedly relieved. Samarn waited for the last of them to file out before turning back to Khvee. "May I ask what it was you did back there?"

The Jedi Master shrugged slightly. "I simply looked into their consciousness and surveyed their intentions. They bear no ill will toward the Queen or her court, nor have they been approached by anyone with criminal intentions. It would appear our perpetrator has escaped."

"So it would," sighed Samarn. He gestured them out the door and accompanied them back toward the lifts. "I must apologize for our lack of ability to protect the Queen's protectors." He glanced down at Eliatra with such a sorry grimace that she reached out and patted his arm comfortingly.

"We're no worse for the wear, Captain. No one was injured except those guards, and this way we'll be on our toes during the ceremony. We'll know what to expect."

"We can only hope so," he replied darkly.

----------

Eliatra and Khvee found Austrina and Orion conferring with a small group of guards at the edge of the somewhat-settled crowd in the ballroom. The orchestra had begun playing again, which seemed to help, though Eli noticed that people were mingling and talking with occasional nervous looks at the various balconies around the room rather than dancing to the music.

"…to secure the west exits and skylights over the arboretum walkways," Austrina finished as they approached.

"See if you can get some heat-sensing visors," Orion added. "They might be using stealth fields to slip past patrols, if they're still infiltrating the premises."

"Will do," replied the lieutenant heading the group. They saluted the Jedi and left the ballroom at a swift walk.

Austrina spotted Eli and Khvee and waved them over. "Did you find anything?"

Khvee shook his head. "Only a few servants, who I examined, and one of the Princess's handmaidens who was coming to fetch us. Whoever shot at you two must have escaped before they could lock down the level."

"Whoever it was knocked the guards out without shooting them and killed them with a blade," Eliatra added. "If there's going to be any attack at the ceremony tomorrow, I think they're going to use a stealthy approach."

Orion glanced at the doorway the guards had gone through. "Do you think Eli and I should take a look at that arboretum now, just in case?"

Austrina nodded. "You'd best make sure there aren't any hidden entrances in there. And watch out for more attacks. I doubt that'll be the only one." She nodded at the balcony.

"We've got our sabers," Orion assured her before placing a light hand on Eliatra's shoulder and directing her toward the door. "We'll be back soon!"

He waited until they were well out of the ballroom and moving swiftly through the ornate corridors—these, unlike the ones leading to the Guard headquarters, were richly decorated with carvings, murals, and paintings—before looking down at Eli. "So the guards weren't shot?"

"No. There wasn't a mark on them except for some bruising and a single stab wound on each of them. Why didn't you go?"

They arrived at the doors to the arboretum and showed their identification cards to the pair of guards watching the entrance before walking through. Orion looked slightly uneasy. "I didn't want you and Austrina to be the targets if the shooter came back for another try," he said hastily. "But—"

"Honorable of you," she said dryly.

"What, you _wanted_ to stay behind?"

"Well, when you put it that way… thanks."

"That's more like it." He grinned roguishly.

"But I wasn't really dressed for examining bodies." She plucked at her long sleeves and stepped around a huge leafy plant to follow a narrow dirt path to the perimeter of the arboretum.

Orion followed her, bracing her elbow as she tripped on a rock and nearly stumbled on her heeled shoes. "So I noticed. Watch the branch." They both ducked under the vinelike growth and found the hazy glass wall of the vast green room, pausing to look outside. It took Eli's eyes a moment to adjust to the dim post-twilight landscape outside before she realized that the building was perched on the edge of a waterfall. Endless sprays of water gushed out beneath them, falling down into the interminable crevasse below the city. "Nice, huh?"

She smiled wistfully and stepped back as her breath fogged the glass, hiding the falls from view. "It's beautiful. Too bad Dantooine doesn't have any falls like that."

"Yeah," he agreed. When he fell silent for a few minutes, she glanced questioningly back at him as they moved along the wall.

"What's the matter?"

"The guards that were killed… you said there was only one stab wound?"

"Yes." She explained her own conclusions about their injuries, adding that the gun used to shoot at them had been taken from one of the dead guards.

"You don't think it was one of the guards themselves, then?" Orion asked curiously once she'd finished.

Eliatra stopped in her tracks. They'd never asked how many men should have been in the group to start with. Had there been a betrayal among the Queen's Guard? "But the unarmed attack doesn't fit," she said, frowning. "They aren't trained as much in that kind of combat as they are in melee and ranged weapons. They all carry daggers, though…"

"Could have been an imposter," Orion suggested, ushering her onward. "Someone could have infiltrated their ranks and replaced a member weeks ago."

It chilled her to think that any one of the guards they had placed their trust in during their stay here could be someone trying to kill them or the Princess. "It would take days to examine everyone," she exclaimed, the magnitude of the idea dawning on her. With guards placed at every critical point around the palace during the next few days, any spot could potentially become a vulnerable one.

"That's the idea," Orion said grimly. "If our shooter is part of a larger organization—and that's more likely than anything else—then they've probably got spies hidden throughout the palace. We'll have no idea who to trust."

And tomorrow, Eliatra would be on the coronation plaza with the Queen of Naboo behind her and a sea of possible enemies before her. Suddenly, her task looked like the most daunting she'd ever have to face.


	19. Blade's Edge

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: Blade's Edge **

* * *

"Lady Jedi."

She was racing blindly ahead, breath coming in short hard gasps and bare feet pounding the dirt. Shadowy fingers clutched at her calves to trip her, but she pushed on, faster—

A murmur. "Eliatra?"

—a voice like steel on duracrete and hot breath at her back, hands reaching—almost touching—

Something softly brushed her shoulder and her eyes flew open, lips parted as she gasped like a fish out of water and stifled a scream of panic. There was only a girl robed in folds of pale gold, her hair all but concealed by a loose hood that shadowed the concerned expression on her slender features. "Are you alright?"

Eliatra willed her heart to slow down to a normal speed and glanced around, re-orienting herself with her surroundings as she nodded to the handmaiden's question. After she and Orion had secured the arboretum and returned to the ballroom, they had been split up again. This time Orion and his master had decided to stay behind and watch the ballroom until the dancers retired for the night, while Austrina and Eliatra would stand watch along with the Queen's Guard outside Kadela's bedchambers. The small lobby that preceded her quarters, however, was quiet and tucked away in the depths of the palace, distant from most activity. Austrina, noting her padawan's weariness, had offered to keep an eye on things—what little there was—while Eliatra napped, and the teenager hadn't argued with the suggestion. Now she noted that it was almost midnight and all was still silent save for the faint rustle of movement within the chamber. Her nightmare, whose memory was rapidly dissipating as she blinked to adjust her eyes to the soft interior lighting, gave no indication as to the reason of its origin. The only particularly salient thing that stood out from it was that it had all seemed somehow familiar.

She shook off the feeling and rose carefully from her seat in the small foyer, noting ruefully that her gown had acquired some deep wrinkles. The handmaiden was still standing expectantly before her, palms clasped. "I have come to escort you to the first of your ceremonial preparations," she explained before Eliatra could ask.

Eli vaguely remembered Kadela mentioning such rituals, but what they were exactly had escaped her.

"What's first?" She sincerely hoped it had something to do with changing her clothes; the gown's confining bodice was feeling distinctly vise-like, not to mention a little crooked after having been slept in. She tugged futilely at the top edge to straighten it.

"A ritual cleansing to rid you of impurities, followed by an anointment to sanctify you before taking part in the Princess' coronation."

Eliatra translated this as 'a bath and perfume.' She glanced to Austrina, who nodded sleepily and waved her on with a reflexive farewell. "I'll see you later. Be careful."

"And you, Master."

The handmaiden led her out of the foyer, down several halls, and through two security doors before finally arriving at a stark white room that held only a glass table with a few folded white garments set on it. She closed the door behind them and motioned to the table. "You may disrobe here to prepare for the first step in your preparation, and put on the white mantle."

Eliatra began to move toward the table, then stopped. "What about my lightsaber?"

"It will be returned to you after your cleansing. You may entrust it to my care."

She would have preferred to hold on to the weapon—after all, it hadn't been more than an arm's length away from her for almost as long as she'd had it—but she reluctantly removed it and the dagger strapped to her other arm and handed them off to the maiden. Pulling her arms out of the draping sleeves attached to the dress, she unfolded the mantle—a simple robe made of a soft, opaque material—and shrugged it on to cover herself before undoing her gown's bodice. Curious, she glanced over at the silent handmaiden while extricating herself from the folds of satin. "Am I the only one going through these rituals, or are all the handmaidens?"

"They all are, as is the Princess—though she must complete a different set of rituals."

"Why aren't you?"

The handmaiden smiled thinly. "You are the one who will replace me during the coronation ceremony tomorrow."

The answer seemed obvious now, and Eliatra suddenly felt a pang of guilt for taking this experience—surely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—from the other girl, who couldn't be much older than she was. "Sorry," she apologized, finally shaking loose the red skirt and wrapping the robe around her torso as she stepped out of the fabric. "If there was any other way…"

"It is of no consequence," the handmaiden replied evenly. "Your service will protect the Princess from danger so that I may have the chance to aid her similarly in the future. For that, we all thank you."

Eliatra peeled off the last of her undergarments and, clutching her robe around her against the slight draft that licked her ankles, nodded to the handmaiden. Her escort preceded her through the door on the opposite side of the room and into a small grotto with a riverstone-lined pool at its center. Crystal clear water rippled invitingly while several bittersweet scents wafted from incense burners stationed throughout the room. Lights set in ornate lamps resembling vines and trees lent a dim but comforting ambience to the area.

"The steps are over there," the handmaiden informed her, pointing to the near end of the pool. "Be aware that once you have entered the water, you may not leave until after your cleansing has been completed."

"Fair enough." Looking forward to a refreshing, if slightly unusual, bath, the padawan moved toward the edge of the pool and, noting the submerged steps clearly visible through the glassy surface, stepped down into the water.

"_Force!_" Electric jolts of pain shot up her leg as the water's icy touch registered on her skin, eliciting a sharp cry that echoed on the walls of the room. Gritting her teeth, she glanced back at the handmaiden to see if perhaps the water temperature was a mistake—but the other girl remained impassive, waiting silently for Eliatra to get on with it. Drawing a deep breath, she set her other foot down beside the first, barely able to resist a gasp at the painful chill. From her spot on the step, standing perhaps a foot beneath the surface of the pool, she could see all the way to the stone-lined bottom—and it was deep. "A Jedi's life is sacrifice," she muttered to herself, descending reluctantly to the next step. There was no _way_ Orion was going to find out about this.

Half an hour and countless shivers later, Eliatra had progressed from cleansing and anointment to a ritual fast and meditation that would precede the initial and most important coronation ceremony. She inconspicuously adjusted the lightsaber hidden within the folds of her snow-white sleeves—she had been given a satin handmaiden's robe belted with a silver rope and complete with a hood to wear throughout the ceremony—and stepped silently down the aisle of a chapel deep within the palace. A stained-glass ceiling overhead afforded a glimpse of the night sky over Theed, and honey-hued lamps lining the walls supplemented soft light that the pinprick stars could not provide. Three other handmaidens already kneeled silently before the altar at the front of the chapel, dressed similarly in pure white raiment, and Eliatra was left with little doubt about how she would spend the rest of the night before the ceremony. She crossed the floor to the remaining empty space between two of the girls and seated herself, closing her eyes as she reached for the Force and sank into meditation.

"Attendants. She is ready."

Seven hours later, the quiet voice filled the chapel, simultaneously raising the four young women from their rest. Eliatra blinked at the strains of jewel-hued light coloring the floor, then glanced up, noticing the early sun's rays refracted through the ceiling. She folded her hands serenely within her robe sleeves and followed the others out through yet another set of winding hallways—would they ever end?—and into a stone-walled room saturated with the fragrance of incense. Kadela stood on a small platform at the other end, radiant in a long white gown and a blue shawl covered with fluttering, pale petals of silk. The three handmaidens and Eliatra arrayed themselves in a loose semicircle around her, staying clear of the bustling servants putting last minute touches on Kadela's attire.

"You look beautiful," she beamed at them, face aglow and framed by her still-loose tresses. A servant hurried up to her with an ornate hairpiece and mounted a stool to better place it atop the Princess' head.

The handmaidens remained respectfully mute, but Eli flushed out of habit and returned the smile. "You far outshine us, Princess. You must be looking forward to this."

"I am. But it will be a relief when it's over." She winced as the servant pulled a few hairs in the process of settling the hairpiece, which looked like a delicate web of silver set with diamonds that sparkled brilliantly among the waves of her hair. Careful not to move her head while the servant fussed with it, she directed her gaze to a small table set up nearby and waved a hand. "Jaydah, could you…?"

"Of course," the auburn-haired maiden answered promptly, moving to the table to pick up a glass and fill it from a frosted jug of water. Eliatra watched her carefully, remembering Orion's comments about a traitor on the inside—but the girl seemed at ease as she handed the glass to Kadela. Though she avoided the padawan's gaze, Eli felt a jolt of shock as she recognized a loose curl peeking out from the edge of her hood. This, no doubt, was the same girl who had been fraternizing with Orion the day before; the image of the two twined around each other flashed across her mind, and her fist clenched involuntarily.

Any action on her part was preemptively cut short by the opening of another door behind Kadela, a rotund man stepping through and bowing briefly to the princess. "My lady, it is time."

Kadela merely nodded and handed her glass off to an attendant, smoothing the folds of her regalia before stepping off the stool and casting one last look at her entourage. "Just keep behind me until you put the crown on my head, then fall back behind again until we return to the palace. There'll be a lot of standing still, I'm afraid." She grimaced apologetically at them before an attendant shooed her toward the doorway.

The handmaidens—with Eli at the rear again—trailed after her down a long, gloomy hallway that eventually sloped upward and finally opened onto the marble plaza Eli had visited the day before. The pale stone gleamed in the early morning sunlight, temporarily blinding her from seeing the vast crowd of people in the stadium around them. A great roar erupted as Kadela stepped into view, the handmaidens arranging themselves in a semicircle behind her while she lifted her hands in greeting to them.

"My people," she started, voice amplified by a device hidden in her robes and speakers set throughout the amphitheatre, "It is an immeasurable honor to stand here before you today…"

Eli tuned her out and scanned the rising towers of seats, their vast rows filled with a vibrant sea of humanity. Orion was somewhere out there, she thought absently. Samarn and a row of guards stood at the base of the steps leading up to the dais and were stationed along the staircases leading down to it, their blasters held at the ready. She thought she could see the familiar maroon uniforms dotted throughout the crowd at intervals, their presence a little reassuring. The day was beautiful, the sun's brightness seeming to promise that the coronation would go well. Despite it, though, Eli could feel a prickle of vague apprehension pulling at her…

----------

"Eli was upset at you, wasn't she?"

Orion, who had been squinting past the glowing dais at the procession of Princess and handmaidens as they made their first appearance, jumped at the sudden remark and glanced back at his best friend's Master. "I don't—what are you talking about?"

Austrina leaned against the railing that separated the bottommost row of seats and the sharp fifty-foot drop above processional avenue, fixing an abruptly uneasy Orion with a shrewd look. "Yesterday. She told us she was going to help you with something and then disappeared for hours. When you came back alone, I figured she must be trying to avoid you, since usually the two of you are attached at the hip."

He shifted uncomfortably and wished his own Master was there to distract her. Instead, the disguised Nautolan had donned a Guard uniform and was keeping watch on the Princess alongside Samarn at the bottom of the dais. "That's just the thing," he admitted. "I don't have a clue what I did to bother her. It wasn't intentional, of course," he hastened to add, "but whatever it was just… set her off. She's been touchy like that lately," he finished, hoping to shift some of the blame away from himself.

She hummed noncommittally. "You don't think it's anything you did, then?"

_You and your handmaiden…_ _looks like your girlfriend's here…you're _afraid_ for me, aren't you?_ Lately it seemed he'd been on her bad side more often than not, which besides being an unenviable position had an adverse affect on both their moods. He could hardly concentrate when he knew she was carefully ignoring him on the other side of the room… never mind the fact he seemed to lose his head whenever they dueled lately…

"Orion?"

_Do you want to dance?_

"No," he lied. "No, I don't think it is."

----------

Kadela had been right about standing still; Eliatra held her position as steadfastly as the other handmaidens, but the Princess' speech seemed to last forever. The padawan breathed a sigh of relief as the lone girl holding the tiara finally approached the dais, passing between Samarn and another guard and slowly ascending the marble staircase. She stopped halfway up as Eliatra and the other handmaidens stepped down the stairs to meet her as planned, each reaching out to lay a hand on the glittering crownpiece. Together they carried it up to Kadela, the murmur of the crowd falling silent as they lifted the tiara high in the air over her head.

It was then that she glimpsed a sharp movement and a flash of something as bright as the bejeweled crown. Brandishing a silver knife high, Jaydah moved to plunge it down toward Kadela's exposed throat—but Eli leapt at her without pausing to think and rammed into her chest shoulder-first. There was a sting across the back of her arm and suddenly they were tumbling down the steps, their heads and flailing limbs smacking painfully into the cold marble edges. A shot rang out and there was a collective gasp from the crowd in the bleachers; dazed, Eliatra lifted her head just in time to see Kadela collapse on the dais and the other two handmaidens hurry to her side. Jaydah, still pinned beneath her, tried to slash at her opponent but Eli wrested the knife from her hand and slugged her in the face; the action was oddly cathartic. She clambered to her feet, leaving the unconscious handmaiden behind, and staggered up the steps—but something wasn't right: the Guardsmen rushing down the stairs behind the platform pointed their blasters directly at the Princess—

Below the dais, the twenty soldiers stationed at the foot of the stairs had turned on Samarn and a lone Guard beside him, who had pulled out a green lightsaber and was deflecting the hail of blaster bolts with blinding speed. Seeing she was now without aid, Eli finished charging up the steps just as one of the Guardsmen fired.

One of the handmaidens screamed and slumped. A charred circle marked the edges of the hole in the center of her chest, a shot meant for the woman lying still beneath her. Another of the ten Guards crowding the platform saw Eli as she ran toward the Princess and swung his rifle toward her chest—a shot pierced the air—

---------

Austrina had just been about to ask Orion another question when they both saw the handmaiden's knife rise high in the air and be swiftly intercepted by what could only be Eli, her snap reaction interrupting its deadly trajectory. But he only had time to see the weapon leave a scarlet streak down her sleeve before a group of Guardsmen arrived at their section of seats, blasters in hand.

Master Austrina turned to them in urgency, already unhooking her lightsaber from her belt. "What's the quickest way to the dais from here?"

"Sorry, ma'am, but you aren't allowed there right now," said the nearest, a swarthy bearded man.

"What do you mean? We're the Jedi!" Orion pushed forward but found himself confronted by the barrel of a blaster rifle pointed straight at his heart.

"You must wait here," the Guard growled.

"Like hell we will," Orion snarled back. His saber ignited only a moment before Austrina's, and not a moment too soon. Shrieks rang out from the crowd around them as the Guards opened fire on the two Jedi. A swift Force-shield that would have made Eli proud deflected the shot aimed point-blank at his chest; a second later the Guard screamed as the hand holding his blaster hit the ground courtesy of a slice from Austrina's blade.

Blasting one Guard aside with the Force and swiping another across the belly, Orion reached the railing of the bleachers and caught another glimpse of the dais. The Princess was gone or obscured by the swarm of uniformed Guardsmen on the platform—then one moved to expose the form lying prone on the ground, and his heart leapt to his throat as he saw a white-robed brunette throw herself between Kadela and a blaster shot. Her piercing scream was almost lost in the clamor before she fell still—and then, warned by the Force, he turned to block a Guard's vibroblade attack with his saber. Feeling suddenly numb, he barely seemed to notice his own attacks as he drove the hefty man back, finally plunging his blue blade into the maroon-covered chest seconds later. The sudden silence rang in his ears—distantly, Austrina was saying something—and he turned back to the railing to see another figure in white collapse too hard beside the Princess.

Austrina pulled at his shoulder and he spun to face her, feeling at once empty and sick. "Eli," he gasped. "We have to—"

"This way," she said, silver eyes as grim as he felt.

ooooooooooooooo

XD cliffhanger again! Don't be shy about leaving a review if you like it or hate it.


	20. Seeking the Sword

**A/N**: If you're still reading by now, kudos to you! Thanks for reviewing and keep them coming... I love to know how you're reacting to this. Gives me inspiration for the next chapter. XD!

I am also posting this over at my page on deviantART along with my artwork and other writings, so if you're interested please head on over to eliatra (dot) deviantart (dot) com and take a look around. Thankyou thankyou!!!

-Megan

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**Chapter Twenty: Seeking the Sword **

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Heat passed so close to Eliatra's skin that she felt its touch almost burn her skin and smelt the acrid scent of scorched cloth. She fell hard on top of Kadela's lifeless body and lay still, hoping the guards would mistake her for another slain handmaiden. There was a scuffle from the group around her and someone hissed, "Idiots! Is she dead? He wants her alive!" 

Eliatra slowly curved her down-turned fingers around the smooth pommel of her saber hilt, which was still strapped to her forearm.

"What about the handmaidens?"

The reply, again in the first speaker's voice, was belligerent and impatient. "What about them? They're worthless."

"But he said—"

"The Jedi aren't here, they're busy down there! Get her and let's go!"

"Fine, fine." The guard stooped to move the girl lying facedown on top of Kadela, his hands closing around her waist to roughly move her body aside. He wasn't expecting the blue streak of light that erupted from somewhere beneath her elbow and swung upward, slicing through his lower abdomen before he was quite aware of what had happened. Just as his knees buckled, Eli threw up a bubble-like Force shield around herself and the Princess, correctly guessing what would happen next as she rolled to her feet.

"Shoot—!" Red bolts splashed harmlessly across the shield, much to the guards' dismay. Concentrating, Eliatra dropped the shield in the instant they ceased firing and hit the largest cluster of them with a Force wave that knocked them off their feet. She turned on the remaining four with her lightsaber as they began shooting again, dodging and deflecting the bolts as swiftly as she could. Where was Master Khvee? Any other lightsaber hum was obscured by the sound of her own and the whine of nonstop blasters—it was down to her now, the only one standing between the future of Naboo and certain death—but despite the peril, she felt strangely calm. A sort of peace had descended on her, making her every move seem crystal clear and obvious.

There: she felt it seconds before it occurred, an overheated energy cell in one of the attacking blasters—and her blade flicked out, burning across his arm before cutting into the man beside him and startling the other two enough to strike them with another wave of energy. They stumbled back and she drove forward, blue saber bisecting both their weapons and another Force wave slamming them into the ground—unconscious. She whirled as there was another flash of movement behind her, then relaxed as the white robes registered in her vision. It was the last handmaiden, crouched over Kadela and her fallen comrade, her shoulders shaking.

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The uprising of Guardsmen had been swift and brutal, catching both Khvee and Tobias Samarn completely off-guard. At the bottom of the staircase—which seemed to stretch on for a mile, forming a mountainous barrier between himself and the Princess—the disguised Nautolan fought his way through what seemed like endless masses of Guards shooting at them. The stoic Captain had already taken a shot to the shoulder but was shooting nonetheless with the help of an energy shield and additional protection from Khvee. They slowly began to climb the marble staircase, fighting down their adversaries as they went, but it was agonizingly time-consuming, and the echo of blaster fire from the platform above was disheartening. In hand-to-hand combat their higher ground on the stairs would have been an ideal position, but singled out against the pale stone it only served as a handicap that highlighted their position to the blaster-wielding soldiers. Khvee could only hope that Eliatra was holding her own alongside the Princess.

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Orion and Austrina bolted through the labyrinthine service corridors behind the amphitheatre, one door blending into another. Nothing looked familiar to Orion, who trusted the older Jedi's navigational skills over his own. Questions assaulted his mind with every step, their answers lurking just beyond him. Who had attacked Kadela? In his mind, the flash of white and streak of silver superimposed itself on the handmaiden he'd been working with the day before…but it couldn't have been her. The auburn ringlets that had brushed his face, her eyes sparkling as they'd talked…

What had he talked about? Not Kadela, but…

Khvee. The Enclave. The Jedi.

Eli.

He hadn't felt guilty then but he did now, sharing something as intimate as his friendship with her with someone he barely knew. If she was gone—

_She can't be. She can't be. _The words in his head matched the ragged beat of bootsteps on stone and breathing heavy with nonstop sprinting.

Jaydah, the handmaiden, had asked about…Eli…

It had seemed odd at the time; they'd been laughing over some prank he'd told her about when she had leaned forward in interest.

"So what's your friend's name, again?"

"Eli. Why?" Wiping tears of laughter from the corner of his eye, his own question had been more rhetorical than anything else, his mind already wandering to the next thing he wanted to tell her.

"No, her full name. She seems… familiar, somehow. Like I've seen her before." The redhead smiled curiously, hazel eyes locked on him.

"How could you? She's never been here before. Maybe you're just thinking of someone who looks like her." Now he regretted the remark, having admitted to himself that, in all the places he'd lived and planets he'd visited, he'd never met anyone who looked even remotely like Eli. She carried herself with a kind of powerful grace that was hard to define.

"I've traveled around." Jaydah shrugged modestly, conveying the sense that anything was possible. "What's her surname? Y'taska?"

He'd chuckled, amused with her wild guess. "What's that from, Ithor? Her name's Sabre. Eliatra Sabre." He'd leaned back, grinning smugly.

Something, he recalled now, had flickered in her eyes before she frowned and looked defeated. "I guess I'm wrong, I don't know any Sabres. Sounds a bit… regal, though, don't you think?"

"I guess." A careless shrug. "Ha, she acts enough like a princess that it'd be believable, but she's just another Jedi like me." That little betrayal had seemed like such a meaningless, flippant remark in his striving to somehow impress her, but now all he felt was another sharp pang of guilt. If he saw Eli again, the first thing he'd do—

No, he caught himself. _When_ he saw Eli again—

They piled into a lift and waited impatiently as the doors shut and it began its soundless ascent. A quick glance at Austrina told him all he needed to know. They were hurrying, but they might not be fast enough.

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"Are you alright?" Eliatra directed the question toward the remaining handmaiden kneeling over Kadela's and the fallen handmaiden's bodies. The sound of blaster fire from below the marble platform reminded her of the ticking clock; Khvee and Samarn were buying her a little more time before the next wave of guards arrived.

The handmaiden wiped her face and drew a breath, obviously trying to compose herself a little before speaking. "I…I think Varith's dead, but Milady… Queen Amanarrel is alive. Just unconscious."

The padawan kneeled beside the handmaiden, giving Kadela a cursory glance. She was pale as ever, her shoulder bloodied with a grazing shot that must have knocked her over—but looked otherwise intact, her chest rising and falling shallowly. There was nothing to be done for Varith, the handmaid shot in the chest. Eliatra silently saluted her for her final act of sacrifice and turned to the young woman beside her, scrutinizing her for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

She shook her head hastily. "I'm fine. We must get the Queen to safety before…" Her gaze trailed to the edge of the dais.

Eli understood her meaning immediately. "I can carry her if you lead the way into the palace. We need to reach a safe place as soon as we can."

But she'd barely finished speaking before an involuntary shiver ran down her back. The handmaiden was already rising to leave, and her startled gasp confirmed Eli's sinking feeling before she could turn around.

"That won't be necessary, _ladies_." The final syllable lingered lecherously on the lips of the man standing behind them, whose grayish pallor and yellow eyes immediately put Eliatra in mind of a reptile. An obsidian-black double-bladed lightsaber hilt sat easily in one hand, a trigger button resting beneath his thumb. "I'll be escorting you back to the hangar bay. Let's go before I lose my patience."

Slowly standing up, Eli opened her hands to show they were empty. "Please don't hurt us," she started tremulously. She had a plan, but it would only work if he didn't realize she was a Jedi…the other handmaiden looked her way sharply, but she swallowed and continued, "We only wanted to help Milady—"

"Silence, girl!" He lifted the hand holding his hilt and she instinctively tensed. "You'll stay alive if you do what I tell you. Now move!"

"But the Queen—"

Suddenly her entire body was being plucked from the ground by the neck and shaken, the air squeezed from her lungs and her throat crushed by an invisible force. The world blurred as panic threatened to loosen her control—_so this is what it's like,_ her mind noted absurdly.

"_I SAID SILENCE!_" He opened his fist and it was over as suddenly as it had begun, the handmaiden beside her letting out a strangled sob even though it was Eliatra who had been choked. She crumpled to her knees, coughing frantically to get air back into her chest. "Do you want to die now?" he demanded, staring at both of them with a murderous gaze. They both shook their heads fervently, and he pointed at the rear of the dais close to the doorway they'd originally entered from. "Stand there and walk inside when I tell you!"

The handmaiden hesitated, but Eli shook her head and stumbled to her feet, ushering her in the direction the Sith had pointed. He watched until they stood still a few yards away, then turned to approach Kadela.

Sliding her hands demurely inside her sleeves, Eliatra leaned toward the handmaiden and breathed, "_Get help._"

Not waiting for the other woman's response, she unfastened her own saber hilt from where she had hastily hidden it inside her sleeve and, with a silent bound forward, ignited the blade in one smooth sweep toward the Sith's back. He turned with impossibly quick speed and dodged the blow—almost: a grunt escaped him as the tip of her saber cut deep into his arm above the elbow, his own saber snapping to life as he straightened. The two blades, one a garnet red and the other a blinding bronze, flashed in front of his face.

"Tricky little _schutta,_ aren't you?" If he'd been mad before, he was definitely enraged now. His teeth were bared as he seemed to briefly debate how to kill her.

She merely shrugged—not trusting her still-sore throat not to betray her voice—and gauged her position. She was between him and Kadela, bodies littered the platform, and he had two blades to her one. But she was sure the wound to his arm was enough to slow him down even with her aching throat and lungs taken into account. And how close was Khvee? It seemed impossible that he was still fighting on the stairs below—the few minutes that had passed since Jaydah's dagger first fell seemed to have stretched into hours.

Suddenly the Sith sprinted forward with his blades outstretched, cutting her thoughts short with a move intended to overwhelm her before she could get another score in. She slipped beneath the spinning blades as swiftly as he had the first time and came up with a strike at his knees. Her blade met the bronze one jarringly, but she immediately glanced off it and struck for the upright red blade with as much force as she could muster. It paid off with a grunt of pain from the Sith before he shoved her back and struck at her head, this time with the hilt in his good hand. The two-handed hilt transferred the vibration of every blow to the hands and arms of its bearer, and Eliatra was depending on the jarring blows to weaken his already injured arm.

She blocked and caught his attack to her head and threw a wave of Force energy at him, but he blocked it with a shield that dispelled the wave as though it were little more than a breeze. Shoving her away forcefully, he threw his hand out toward her while she stumbled back and lightning arced from his fingertips, scorching the air. Eliatra braced herself and thrust her saber blade in the lightning's path, catching the destructive power of the attack before it could harm her. Her adversary roared in frustration and clenched his fist, sending a larger burst of energy exploding toward her. She shut her eyes and clutched her blade even tighter, but this time it wasn't enough: the crackling ball of electricity ripped down the core of her lightsaber and hit her hands with a pain that tore through her nerves from her fingertips to her toes. She dropped to her knees, muscles trembling beyond her control but still somehow grasping her saber hilt. Her palms had the odd sensation of being both numb and as though the skin had been severely burnt, and every place where it contacted the hot metal of the hilt seemed to sizzle with the heat. The Sith stepped close to her, leering down with a smile that revealed pointed canine teeth.

Eliatra tensed as he leaned close, expecting a Force choke or another dose of lightning—but instead a foreign voice crowded her mind, every syllable filling her ears with a sibilant hiss.

_What is your name, acolyte?_

_Never! _She gritted her teeth and tried to shove the voice out of her head, then let out a startled cry as her skull suddenly seemed to be burning up from the inside out.

_TELL ME!_

Suddenly images flashed unbidden across her mind—

_A thranta soars lazily across a cloud-scudded blue sky…two blue sabers flash against each other, Orion's face framed in the burning white sweep of blades…the sickening lurch as a speeder drops through the air past glowing buildings to Coruscant's depths…a grating voice and grotesque face hidden in shadows…warm arms around her shoulders, protective…the needling pain of lightning all around her and his voice just before the blackness closes in, frantic and afraid—_

_STOP IT!_

_It's you, isn't it? The Jedi whelp that Lord Erebin spoke of!_ Surprise and triumph rippled out from his realization, but instead of drawing back he gripped her mind even more tightly, making her gasp with the intense pain as she remained frozen in place. _You will pay for your insolence!_

His yellow eyes bored into her very being, the gaze cold and delighting in her torture. Her heart raced, every vein pounding as adrenaline surged uselessly—she could feel her control slipping, but he held tightly to it: he wanted her to be in pain until the very end…

_What do you want?_ If only she knew some way to make him stop…

One new sensation overrode the others, the sharp touch of a fingernail tracing along her bruised throat. "_Your allegiance…"_ he breathed aloud, "_or your death… it is your choice, worm."_

Anger surged through her at the way he held her life in the palm of his hand, taunting her with it. "Then I choose… _neither!_" With a final burst of energy, she forced her hands upward, igniting the blue blade still resting in her hands.

Her entire body was flooded with a cool wash of relief in the absence of pain as he stumbled back, gasping at the hole in his upper abdomen left by the path of her saber. He met her hard gaze with an expression of astonishment, then slowly crumpled to the ground amid the other bodies strewn there. She powered down the blade and sat panting, fighting the utter weariness that had overcome her. After that ordeal, she wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep it all off; not only did her body and head both ache, but the shock of having killed a trained Sith unassisted was still soaking in. Eli wasn't sure how many more brushes with death she could handle in one day.

Kadela stirred and groaned, lifting her head and attempting to sit up before wincing and clutching her shoulder. Eli crawled the few feet to her side and patted her arm reassuringly. "You're alright, Milady. Can you stand up?"

"I don't… what happened?" Obviously bewildered, she stared around at the carnage on the dais, noting first the many Guardsmen and then the handmaiden lying still nearby. "Varith…"

"I know. But Kadela, we need to go. It's not safe here, the Sith…"

"Of course." The new Queen shook her head and got to her feet, extending a hand to Eliatra, who took it gratefully and winced at her still-trembling muscles as she stood.

"Princess—!" There was a flurry of movement from the edge of the dais as a bloodied Samarn charged to the top of the stairs, clutching his blaster rifle and wearing a harried expression. "Thank Kaiod you're alright!"

Khvee was right on his heels but wasted no time with pleasantries before urging them all toward the back of the dais. "Let's go, it's not safe out in the open like this!"

The Captain slung his weapon over his shoulder and supported Kadela as they stepped over the bodies toward the doorway, Eliatra gladly falling into step beside Khvee in the lead. The Nautolan glanced down at her as they walked, a sympathetic grimace falling across his human features. "You've been choked," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

"And that's not the only thing," she replied, pushing away her weariness to keep from stumbling along at the pace he was setting. At this rate she thought she might collapse before they reached safety, wherever that was. "First it was the handmaiden, and then the Guard…then the Sith… oh, Master Khvee, he's working with the man we fought on Coruscant. Lord Erebin."

Khvee, who had been scanning the path ahead, glanced sharply back at her. "Erebin is involved in this?"

"I don't know if he is or not, but it would explain why I was attacked by a dark Jedi!"

"I'd feared as much," he muttered, half to himself, then slowed his stride. "Shh!"

They hadn't moved more than halfway down the narrow hallway beyond the dais entrance when they heard the pound of footsteps ahead, just beyond sight distance. Both Jedi tensed reflexively, halting the group, but Samarn was the first to break the silence in the semidarkness. "Who's there?"

There was a laugh of relief, then a familiar female voice. "It's me, Talia. Milady's handmaiden! I've brought the Jedi!"


	21. Found and Lost

**A/N:** You guys know the drill. I don't own Star Wars or any of its associated ideas, characters, trademarks, etc etc etc...

I apologize for the looooong delay since the last chapter. I've been busy with my first year at college and things are going swimmingly, I just don't have much time to write. But here it is! I have gotten some ideas for the rest of the Naboo storyline so, hopefully, Chapter 22 will be forthcoming. Also forthcoming should be your reviews! They are incredibly inspiring to me and they really do make me want to work harder on this. If you read, please send me a note, however long or short. :-)**

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**Chapter Twenty-One: Found and Lost**

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"Eli!" 

"Princess Kadela—"

"Captain Samarn, we—"

"That's _Queen_ Kadela to you—"

"We can't stay—"

"What happened to the others?"

"—not safe here, we _must_ keep moving!"

Khvee's commanding tone rose above the excited chatter as the two small groups met in the half-lit hallway. The relative quiet and insulation from the frenzied battle outside had made everyone a little giddy upon seeing familiar faces alive and well, but the Jedi Master instilled a sense of urgency in them once more. With a little shuffling as everyone repositioned themselves, they continued their journey deeper into the palace toward the safe quarters at its heart. Orion had forced his way through the group to wind up at Eli's side, and offered his arm to her as a welcome support as they brought up the rear of the party.

_I saw you fall—_ he started almost as soon as they had begun walking again, Force-voice tight with ill-disguised worry. _And the handmaiden with the knife, but I didn't think—your _neck! Passing through a pool of light by a wall sconce, his steps faltered as he finally noticed the angry bruises beginning to color her skin where the Sith had choked her. While her assailant hadn't laid a finger on her during that attack, the strength of his assault with the Force had left its own physical evidence.

_My neck,_ she agreed wearily. Her head was still pounding from the aftereffect of the Sith's mental attack, and as welcome as Orion's Force-voice was, it reminded her too much of the paralyzing pain she had just gone through. "There was a Sith," she whispered by way of explanation, closing her eyes briefly.

Orion got the message, steadying her as she stumbled slightly and catching her fingers with his free hand. When she winced at the touch, he immediately turned her hand over to see the angry red, blistered skin along her palm and fingers. She instinctively curled her fingers in against the stinging pain, easing the hairline cracks where fresh blood sprang to the surface. He dropped her hand and scowled darkly, his own fist clenching. "Where is he?" he muttered to her.

"Dead," she whispered back, feeling strange about connecting this idea with a man who had stared into her eyes only minutes before. "I killed him."

"Good," Orion growled. He glanced down at her again, this time catching her gaze almost apologetically. "We tried to come as soon as we could, but a group of Guardsmen stopped us—Force, Eli, if he had—I mean, if you hadn't…"

"It's alright," she said when he trailed off helplessly. "I'm fine…"

"I'd never forgive myself," he said quietly.

Startled, she glanced up to see him staring resolutely ahead, his clenched jaw the only betrayal of his feelings. "It wasn't your fault, 'Rion."

His fingers tightened slightly against her side but he looked back down at her, attempting a lighthearted smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. She wished she could do something to comfort him, bring the joy back into his haggard face; she wasn't used to seeing him so worried, and it made her feel irresponsible when she got hurt and _Orion_ felt guilty about it. He'd known this would happen somehow, she realized with a start, back on that crisp morning when she'd proposed her plan of masquerading as a handmaiden. He'd tried to stop her even though it might have meant the Princess's death, contrary to the reason why they had even come on this mission. _A Jedi's life is sacrifice._ She knew it, he knew it, everyone knew it, and she had no doubt that he would throw himself in front of a blaster shot if it meant saving a life. But would he go too far in trying to save hers?

Austrina fell back to walk beside Eli and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "I think it would be better, just in case, if you and Talia walked beside Kadela. You should still keep up your disguise even though we're not in public any more."

She nodded in consent and looked quickly up at Orion, who reluctantly released her and steadied her arm as she stumbled again before moving forward to join Kadela. Samarn stepped aside to let the padawan take his place, moving up to join Khvee in their little procession.

The taller woman smiled encouragingly at Eliatra. "Feeling a little better, I hope?"

Eli felt as though she had never been worse—the pounding headache refused to subside and an uncomfortable anxiety was building in her stomach, though she supposed it was just her weariness increasing—but she managed a weak smile nevertheless and nodded slightly. "And you, Milady?"

"Better, as well. Though you're probably worse off than me by half, after that… attack on the dais. I can't thank you enough for saving my life."

"It was nothing compared to Varith," she murmured, recalling again the ill-fated handmaiden's fall before the merciless Guardsmen. Kadela immediately sobered, lips pressing together in an attempt to stem her tears.

They reached two pairs of doors: the lifts. Khvee looked plainly uneasy as Samarn moved to press the control panel. "They'll have people stationed at all the lift entrances," he cautioned the captain.

Samarn shook his head, pressing the button anyway and stepping back to wait for the doors to open. "I know. But it's the fastest route. We'll just have to power through them when we get out—and if we took the stairs and got caught, they'd have us trapped."

"We'll be trapped anyway," Khvee said resignedly, "but if it's better than any other route, I suppose we'll have to deal with it."

Eliatra glanced back at Orion, who met her gaze with a faint smirk. Their last experience with using elevators while fleeing from enemies hadn't gone so well at all…

The doors to both lifts slid open at the same time, and Eliatra realized immediately that the seven of them definitely wouldn't fit into just one of the small compartments. Recognizing this too, Samarn quickly surveyed the group. "Master Austrina, Orion, and Talia, I want you three to go first in that lift." He motioned to the one on the left. "Master Khvee, Eliatra and I will take the princess in the other one—that way you three can start clearing the way before we step out. Level twenty-three, got it?"

"We'll see you there," Austrina said brusquely before motioning Orion and Talia in before her.

Samarn waited for their lift to close before ushering the others into the remaining compartment. There was a small jerk before the lift hummed, rising smoothly, and a tense silence settled over them. Eliatra felt rather absurdly as though she should be making small talk, and the thought made her glance around at her companions, realizing suddenly what a sorry group they looked. Captain Samarn and Kadela, standing close to each other, were both drawn and sporting blaster wounds to the shoulder. Samarn watched his charge with tender concern, and after a moment she leaned back against his chest, closing her eyes wearily. He patted her shoulder gently, blue eyes crinkling in a near smile. Khvee had also taken a few hits, though his were less severe than Samarn's wound, but his clothes were disheveled and singed in places where the bolts had come too close. He watched the ticking numbers on the interior control panel mark their passage with a terse stare: _17…18…19…_

All four of them jumped in surprise as a terrible _screech_ issued from overhead halfway between the twentieth and twenty-first floor, knocking them nearly off balance as the entire compartment began juddering to a stop—then, as it still ground along the shaft walls, a yellow beam of light thrust through the ceiling. Molten drippings fell from the ceiling down into their midst and they pressed against the sides to avoid getting burned. Khvee had pulled out his saber hilt in preparation, but the yellow blade withdrew only a moment later, leaving a fist-sized hole in the ceiling instead of the large entrance Eliatra had expected.

"What—?" Khvee started, moving to look up the way the blade had gone, then hastily stepped back as a small black object dropped to the floor. A red light on one side flashed intermittently.

"NO!" Samarn seized Kadela and pushed her into the corner, shielding her with his body as Khvee mirrored his actions with Eliatra a second later—a high-pitched whine erupted—and Eliatra thought to shield the blast but it was too little, too late, the Force dying at her thoughts as she reached for it—

The tiny grenade exploded with a shockwave startling for its compact size, pressing Khvee into Eliatra with its force and sending both of them reeling, deaf and dumb and blind but—alive?

The padawan groped blindly for something, anything, blinking furiously to clear her retinas of the vast whiteness burned into them. She thought she could hear a distant buzzing, but couldn't tell if it was real or her own ears ringing. Then someone grabbed her waist roughly, moving to pick her up—she kicked reflexively, the only thing she dared doing in her crippled state—and the hands subsided, she was free!

But she only managed a single step backward before her balance went out, something struck the back of her skull hard, and a blackness swallowed her whole.

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Back on the twenty-third floor, the first lift door slid open and the two Jedi disembarked first, Talia following tentatively behind as they checked the area. It was eerily still, void of the crowd of Guardsmen they'd expected. Austrina glanced at the other lift and froze, eyes riveted on the flashing display above its doors: _19…20_…_21…20…21…_

Orion swallowed against the sudden dryness in his throat.

"What's wrong?" Talia asked, staring between the two of them.

"The lift," Orion said far more calmly than he felt. Eli was in danger for the second time in one day and here he was two floors away from her… Austrina was already rushing to the doors that Kadela's group should have been walking out of by now and motioning impatiently at them. They slid open with an echoing squeal to reveal the empty shaft; Orion noticed with an odd sense of déjà vu that it looked exactly like the one on Coruscant that he, Eli, and Tris had climbed out of. Hurrying to follow her, he stared down the shaft to where a dull metal platform was barely visible through the darkness. A flicker of movement caught their eyes before a brilliant yellow saber blade cut through the blackness, slicing through the lift roof in a hasty circle.

"Damn," Austrina hissed through her teeth. It was too far to jump, especially with a lightsaber right underneath.

"There should be ladder rungs—here," Orion suggested, mind finally kicking out of its terror-stricken state and into something resembling a useful consciousness. Without waiting, he felt for the first one in the shaft just below the lip in the floor, grabbed it, and swung down, feet kicking a moment before catching hold of another metal bar. Austrina quickly followed after warning Talia to stay behind, both of them scrambling down the widely spaced rungs.

Voices echoed up the shaft, the flurry of movement hastening the Jedi's descent, but by the time they had passed level twenty-two, their quarry had already left through the opening at twenty-one.

"You get down to the lift and check on the others, I'll follow them out twenty-one," Austrina panted as Orion prepared to swing down to the set of rungs just below the twenty-first floor.

He didn't reply, afraid to voice his fears lest they come true—if there wasn't any use in checking on whoever had been left behind—

The melted hole in the roof gave him plenty of room to jump down onto the floor below. His stomach immediately lurched at the sight inside the lift: Captain Samarn and Master Khvee, no longer in human form but the familiar Nautolan, sprawled on the floor against the walls as still as death. Samarn stirred first, letting out a pained groan and slowly bringing a hand to his forehead. Orion knelt beside him, mind racing as he tried to remember what he'd learned in his healing lessons.

"Kadela—is she—?" The red-haired man blinked rapidly and unseeingly at Orion, shook his head a few times, and squinted.

"Master Austrina went to find her," the padawan replied, looking around and hoping foolishly that Eli would emerge from thin air. She was gone, vanished…but not dead, he thought fervently, not dead… Khvee shifted against the other wall, immediately screwing his large eyes shut in pain.

"Stun grenade," he moaned, "we didn't have time to block it—are they…"

"Someone took them, Austrina went—"

"Help me up, Khvee said, extending a hand. Orion hauled him to his feet and he shook his head a few more times, sensitive eyes still adjusting to sight once more.

"You've lost your disguise," Orion pointed out, then wondered if it was even important anymore.

"Don't need it," he muttered. The grenade had interrupted the constant focus he'd used to keep up the illusion of being human, but at this point there was no use in continuing the effect. "Alright there, Tobias?"

Samarn rubbed his eyes and slowly stood, steadying himself against the wall and nodding. "Should have taken the stairs," he growled.

Khvee seemed to have regained his sight, the residue in his vision from the bright flash having faded, and stared up at the hole in the ceiling. "Let's go, Austrina's going to need a hand…"

Orion and Khvee boosted Samarn through the hole first, then followed him through on their own and climbed the shaft rungs back out onto level twenty-one.

This floor was as silent as the twenty-third had been and nearly identical in structure, the lift opening to a spacious lobby littered with furniture and a set of doors on the far wall that gaped open. Master Austrina jogged through before they had gotten halfway across the room, her expression telling them exactly what they had feared.

"I wasn't able to stop them—there was a shuttle waiting at the balcony and it was already starting to fly off by the time I arrived. They're gone."

----------

Rain pattered softly and reassuringly somewhere beyond Eliatra's closed eyelids. She was lying on something soft in a warm room, and—she was pleased to find—the pain from her injuries had subsided to a dormant ache. The antiseptic tang of kolto healing gel reached her nostrils and she sensed a pale natural light falling across her face. Another person was breathing softly not far from her, and for a moment she imagined that she was back in the Jedi Enclave's small medical center with someone waiting at her bedside. She would open her eyes, and there would be Tris or Orion dozing lightly in a chair beside her cot even though the healers would have tried to usher them out…

She opened her eyes. A bare ceiling met her gaze, lit by a silver glow from a window to her left. The moment she stirred, her companion stood and leaned over her: troubled gray-green eyes met her own and the Queen of Naboo spoke in tones of relief.

"Oh, you're awake! How are you feeling?"

The padawan started to sit up and winced as her head protested mightily, the pounding returning in earnest. She pulled herself into an upright posture anyway and did her best to ignore the ache. "I've been better," she admitted, rubbing at one eye and observing their room in a sweeping glance: four bare walls, a door, and a barred window. No vents or light fixtures or even proper furniture—she'd been lying on a padded mattress on the floor. There was a second pad a few feet away, but Kadela was kneeling on the tiled floor beside Eli instead.

"How long have we been here?"

"I don't know." Kadela shook her head, pursing her lips worriedly. "I've been awake for about an hour, I suppose. I have no idea how long we were unconscious."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Someone must have hit me over the head after that blast in the lift, though."

"Me, too." Eliatra looked down at her palms, noticing for the first time that they were sticky and a little stiff. Someone had coated them with a clear balm—no doubt the kolto she had smelled—and already the cracks were beginning to heal over. She noted with disappointment but little surprise that their kidnappers had removed her lightsaber, and she had lost her shoes somewhere along the way; all she had were the blood-stained white handmaiden robes and her bare hands and feet.

The door clicked loudly, but instead of opening, a voice called from the other side. "Stay clear of the door, we're bringing in food for you. We have weapons, so don't try anything."

Eliatra got to her feet and silently crossed the floor, setting her back against the wall a few feet from the side of the door. "_Distract them,_" she mouthed at Kadela, who nodded in hasty apprehension and moved to stand in front of the door but closer to the opposite wall.

The doors slid open a second later and two blaster-wielding men stepped through. Their attention was immediately riveted by Kadela, who had begun clutching her stomach in apparent agony. "Aauugh, I'm hurt, I think I'm dying!" she wailed, staggering backward.

As the guards hurried toward her in alarm, Eliatra lunged from where she had gone unnoticed and aimed a high kick at the nearest man's neck. Heel connected with the side of his throat in a dull _smack_ and he fell to his knees, gasping. She had spun with the momentum of her kick and used it to carry her body into the second guard's chest: he struck the wall, losing his balance and getting the breath knocked out of him as she rebounded from his chest to land on the floor. She hadn't counted on the last man, however, who was unarmed but had dropped his trays of food and was waiting for a pause in the action. The moment she landed, he seized her right arm and wrenched it backwards. Fiery needles lanced her shoulder as she twisted to get away, lashing out with a kick to his groin—but he sidestepped it just in time and twisted her arm harder, this time grabbing her elbow and applying a new pressure point to her upper arm.

"Let me go," she gasped, finally ceasing her struggle and gritting her teeth as her bones and muscles screamed against the extreme flexion.

"Not just yet," he growled, giving her elbow one final jerk before letting go.

Her knees immediately gave way, adrenaline and shock giving her the momentary illusion that she was alright—then she realized that he had snapped her upper arm, and the next wash of pain forced a strangled, choking sob from her throat. She had come so close to freeing them…

Lifting her chin sharply, the guard grinned mirthlessly at her as one of the others got to his feet again. "I told you not to try anything, and this is what happened—you thought you could get away, didn't you?"

"Castor!"

He spun abruptly as a new voice arrived at the doorway, a younger male. Eliatra could not bring herself to look up at him, intently trying to stifle the agony in her arm, though out of the corner of her eye she could see Kadela look up to stare at the newcomer.

"I told you to bring them a bit of supper, not torment them!" He was furious, whoever he was.

"Sir, we had only just come in when she jumped at us—" Eliatra's attacker had become sickeningly placating.

He snorted in derision. "Three trained men can't protect themselves from two unarmed girls?" There was a scuffle of boot steps as he entered the room and pushed Castor aside, kneeling beside Eliatra. "You're dismissed," he said coldly.

"Sir, what if she—"

"What did I say?"

"Yes, sir." Castor and the winded guard helped the third to his feet, and the three left the room, shutting the door behind them.

"Now…"

Eliatra looked up for the first time, staring through her long, disheveled hair at her unexpected savior. He had already pulled up her loose robe sleeve and clucked his tongue at her swelling arm. "It's broken, isn't it?"

She nodded mutely.

"_Did_ you try to take them down by yourself?" When she nodded again, he smiled to himself and sat back on his heels. He looked surprisingly younger than she had expected, with dirty blonde hair that flopped boyishly over his forehead and a light stubble coating his jaw. Decidedly handsome with eyes of a blue less intense than Orion's but kind nonetheless, Eliatra couldn't help feeling attracted to his magnetic personality even though she knew he was their captor.

"Good," he continued, "very good. Of course, I knew you Jedi Knights were talented—"

"I'm not a—" she started, but he raised a finger to shush her.

"We found your lightsaber when we took you two from the palace. We have no quarrel with the Jedi, of course—"

"So you're not acting with Lord Erebin?" Eliatra had momentarily forgotten her broken arm in light of this realization.

He started to respond, but this time Kadela interrupted him. "No, he's not. He's Kai Altus, leader of the Medellas Society, and he wants my alliance as Queen of Naboo."


	22. Coming to Terms

**A/N:** I don't own Star Wars.

Enjoy and please review! I like to know what you're thinking... :)

* * *

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Coming to Terms **

* * *

Orion rubbed his tired eyes and crossed the floor of the palace's security headquarters for the hundredth time to stare into the console screen dedicated to new reports uploaded by Queen's Guard officers out in the field. The newest one was the same message that had met his gaze the last eight times he'd checked[_20:16:47 Abandoned speeder #AT65-15GH found at intersection of Gast Road and Aviner Road South. Not reported as stolen._ The time now was 22:35; the sky had long since faded from aquamarine blue to a dusty, storm-wrought lavender that was slow in relinquishing itself to the inky spread of night sky. Despite feverish search efforts since the Princess had been captured that morning, there had been no leads. Kadela and the Jedi Padawan with her might as well have stepped into thin air and disappeared. 

Turning from the screen, Orion crossed his arms and returned to staring out the window at the lamp-lit street below. A light rain had begun pattering across the ground a few hours earlier, and now small rivulets of water rushed down the gutters, carrying leaves and other debris with them. He couldn't help imagining Eli crouched somewhere unprotected, getting soaked to the bone in that thin handmaiden's garb…or worse. And here they were, uselessly mulling over what possible clues the Guard had discovered while Khvee and Samarn pored over every candidate for malcontent toward the Princess. Footsteps approached him from behind and, when he didn't turn, a slender hand touched his elbow.

"I took some rolls from the kitchen," Austrina informed him, proffering a golden brown biscuit. But the usually voracious padawan merely shook his head, keeping his hands tucked inside his sleeves.

"Thank you, Master Lelovare. But I… I can't." He swallowed and looked away, the thought of food making his stomach twist nauseatingly. In the rush of panic following Kadela's disappearance earlier that day, he'd downed half a sandwich to keep his strength up—only to retch it up a few minutes after Samarn had suggested the possibility of Kadela's captors executing her 'handmaiden' once they verified that Kadela truly was the Princess and not a decoy. The handmaiden would have no use as a political prisoner, and merciless captors would no doubt wish to drive home their seriousness if they were to make demands of the new Queen. In this respect Samarn was fairly confident that they would be able to recover Kadela alive, but he was nowhere near as certain about Eliatra's fate.

Austrina stared at Orion as he turned away from her offering of food. During all the years she had known him, she couldn't remember a single instance he'd turned down an offer to eat. Taking hold of his elbow again, she pulled him gently away from the window and turned him to face her. "We'll find them," she said simply, holding his agonized gaze with her own and hoping to dispel some of the anguish she saw there.

"Alive or dead?" he croaked. "What good can we do just standing here?"

"We have to be patient. Naboo's too large to simply go charging out there blind—we don't even know for certain if they're still on the planet—"

"It's not what Eli would have wanted," he said suddenly, conviction flaring in his tone. "She told me—she wanted to use her abilities as a Jedi to do her job as well as she possibly could. She wouldn't want us to stand here and _wait_ like this. What if it's too late? What if she's-" He fell silent abruptly, clenching his teeth and swallowing hard as he looked away from the Master again.

"She's not dead," Austrina said firmly. Orion's eyes jerked sharply back to her at the mention of the dreaded word.

"How do you know?" He was miserable, angry, wanting to lash out and scream and weep all at once, voice trembling under the strain of keeping himself in check. "While we stand here _idle—_"

"That's enough," she snapped. "You won't help anyone by going into hysterics. Eliatra knows how to take care of herself; trust in her and in the Force. You would know," she added slowly, "if she was…injured."

Orion drew a steadying breath and considered for a long moment. "If something happens to her…"

Austrina pressed her lips together and regarded him, still bracing his arm. He was like a drowning man, alive only because he clung to a narrow hope that was in danger of vanishing altogether. "You can't go on like this," she murmured.

They both knew she wasn't talking about his current condition, but in Orion's mind, now was hardly the time for a lecture on the dangers of emotional attachment. He stepped back, gently pulling his arm from her grasp, and settled his cloak firmly around his shoulders. "I'm going out," he said flatly.

"Orion."

He was already halfway to the door, but paused to glance over his shoulder.

"Just… remember the Code."

Orion swept out the door without a word.

----------

The blonde man chuckled and stood, crossing his arms as he looked down on the two young women. "Correct, my lady. You're as astute as they said you would be."

"The Medellas Society?" Eliatra echoed, wracking her brain for any memory of the name. But the mission briefing from the Council had been primarily concerned with the Kharryaksri, and Altus did not have the look of a Sith about him.

"A faction of Nabooans that deal in trading…select goods with outside sources who pay a good deal of credits for them. We have used the proceeds to benefit the lower-class citizens of Theed and surrounding colonies, but the authorities and rulers of Naboo have been less than sympathetic to our operations. We wish to expand our trade routes to planets in nearby systems, but our persecuted state prevents us from becoming more productive. I must apologize for our show of force, but we feared that you would refuse to confer with our people—as your predecessors have—once you had taken control of the throne."

Kadela sniffed. "By select goods you mean contraband, of course. The Medellas Society is a smuggling operation that deals in weapons and illegal stimulants, among other things. The rulers of Naboo have been right to persecute you."

Altus smiled sympathetically at her and shook his head bemusedly. "You'll change your mind soon enough, I believe."

Eliatra rose to her feet and stared him down defiantly despite cradling her injured arm. "She'll act as she sees fit, Altus. I won't allow you to do anything to the Queen."

At this he let out great laugh and reached into his pocket. "A spitfire, too! No, Jedi, you'll be too busy recuperating to concern yourself with the Queen of Naboo." He had just pulled out a commlink when Eliatra thrust out her good hand toward him, intending to hurl him against the wall using the Force. Instead he stayed firmly planted, smiling idly as she screamed in pain and sank to her knees again, clutching her head. For the second time in one day, fiery needles seemed to rake across her mind with the intensity of the attack she'd meant for her captor.

"Neural inhibitors," Altus remarked casually as her scream subsided to ragged gasping. "Relatively new technology, but we find them remarkably efficient in restraining Force-users." He lifted the comm to his mouth. "Raska, I need you to pick up our handmaiden and take her to the med-center. She's not feeling well." With one last condescending smile in their direction, he turned and left the room, letting the door slide shut behind him.

"Monster!" Kadela exclaimed bitterly as soon as they were alone. "That wasn't worth it, Eliatra."

"I didn't realize they had put inhibitors on me," she rasped, still a little dazed. "I won't let them take me… we need to stay together."

"You won't have a choice. You don't know what else they'll do to you, and they haven't harmed me yet. I'll be fine alone."

"_Yet,_" Eliatra stressed. "If I'm not here to stop them-"

"What use are you to me dead?" Kadela asked gently. "We don't have to do what they want, we just have to hold out until help arrives. You're not going to be able to do much with that broken arm, anyway."

She had a point, but the padawan hated the idea of the situation slipping even more out of her control than it had already. If help never arrived, they had no backup plan to escape if they were separated. "I have to try _something_," she said in frustration. "I'm a Jedi, I'm willing to lay down my life if—"

The door slid open behind her, but she turned and only got a glimpse of a tattooed face before a blaster leveled itself at her chest and the sound of a shot filled her final moments before unconsciousness.

The next time she woke up, she found her head cushioned by a thin pillow and her wrist shackled at the side of the bed she was lying on. Her other arm was restricted by a brace that had been tied around her shoulder and chest. She suspected it was still broken, but it merely ached in a suitably ignorable way.

"You're awake. Do you need anything?"

The voice was not Kadela's, but a soft male voice she didn't recognize. Turning toward it, she blinked as she recognized the Zabrak who had shot her earlier. Narrow dark blue lines crossed his pale grey-gold face in intricate patterns as well as surrounding the small horns that protruded across his skull. His expression was surprisingly kind, though she couldn't read the intent behind his gaze.

"Take-" She stopped as her voice petered out to a whisper, swallowed dryly, and tried again. "Take me to the Queen."

"The Queen is fine," he replied patiently. "Would you like some water?"

"Yes," she admitted. She waited until he had risen and started across the room toward a sink on the far wall before closing her eyes and focusing hard on the manacle around her wrist. The same intense pain as before struck her hard, but she tried to push past it, to focus beyond the red haze that was building behind her closed eyelids.

"It's no use, you know." The Zabrak had reappeared with a glass of water in hand and seemed entirely unaffected by her exhausted panting as she stopped resisting the inhibitors. "We wouldn't have to do this to you if you wouldn't fight." He sat down again on a chair next to the bed, but not before she spotted a hilt-sized glint of darkened copper within the folds of the long cloak he wore.

"I refuse to give up," she gritted, pausing to sip the water as he raised the rim of the glass to her lips. "Unlike you."

His hand jerked slightly as he pulled the glass away, just enough to splash a few drops on the tattered edge of her robes. "What are you talking about?"

"You were a Jedi once. I saw your lightsaber."

"You're mistaken." His burnished gold eyes slipped away from her, though his tone remained neutral.

"About what? Being a Jedi or seeing the lightsaber?"

"Impudent questions for one not yet a Knight."

He was obviously trying to change the topic, but she took the bait anyway and gave him a hard stare, remembering how Altus had mistaken her for an actual Knight. "You don't know what you're talking about," she said haughtily.

"I know enough," he replied. "You carry a lightsaber and you are talented enough—or your superiors foolish enough—to trust you in a security position close to the Queen. You lived long enough to save her from the first attack during the Coronation, which means there was more than pure luck on your side. But you were captured nonetheless and have been yet unsuccessful in escaping. If that wasn't enough, you scarcely look old enough to be trusted with a lightsaber, never mind a head of state. You're a padawan."

"And you're—what? A fallen Knight? One who's strayed too far from the Council to risk returning? Some washed-up excuse for a warrior—"

"Silence," he growled, slamming the water glass down on a nearby table. "Your Master would be ashamed of how little you have done to fulfill your duty."

"What of yours?" she retorted. "How long has it been since you've been proud of your accomplishments, Jedi?"

"You will _not—_" In an instant he had whipped out a lightsaber and ignited the blade against her throat, the goldenrod core blazing against her lifted chin—"call me that!"

"Then tell me your name," she murmured, willing him to lower the blade.

He held it there a moment longer, teeth bared, before moving it away and reluctantly powering down the saber. "Varn-Xek Raska," he said grudgingly.

"Why did you leave?" she whispered.

He merely shook his head and turned away, soon leaving her alone in the cold and sterile room.

----------

Master Lelovare was right, of course; and Khvee and Varian and every single Jedi on the Council who had eschewed petty emotion in favor of cold, calculating logic. Orion had allowed himself to do that which was forbidden and draw close to someone else, someone he was now very close to losing, and he could see the consequences unfolding before him. He wouldn't just be affected by her loss, he would be devastated, utterly doomed to a life as bleak and hopeless as Tatooine's Great Dune Sea. The most frightening part of the whole affair was his helplessness in the situation: he had let Eliatra slip from his hands once more, and as she stood on the brink of death, so—figuratively, at least—did he. The cold feeling that gripped his stomach when he thought of her death was enough to convince him life, even with the Jedi, wasn't worth living without her.

In spite of all this, a grim kind of peace—no, _resignation_—had settled over him as he took to Theed's rain-washed streets. The Masters had already prepared themselves for the idea that Eliatra wouldn't survive, and finding the Queen was an infinitely higher priority than finding the padawan. He was as powerless as the rest of them; the Guard had searched every flight report they could get their hands on, scoured the records of every spaceport on the planet, even followed Orion's suggestions as to locating the ship that had taken the Queen. For all their searching they hadn't turned up a single answer. He knew Samarn would not rest until the Queen was found, regardless of what it would take—and Orion would do the same, if only he could begin! But what tools did he have to reach her?

_The Force._ The thought stopped him in the middle of the avenue as rain continued to soak through his layers of clothing. He had spoken to her through the Force before when they were near each other, but had never attempted it while apart… but there was a chance it could work. At any rate, it was something he hadn't tried yet.

Not wanting to waste any time with returning to the palace, he ducked under the cover of a storefront awning and shut his eyes, reaching out to her as powerfully as he could. He knew the feel, the taste of her mind and cast out for it in all directions. He could feel himself tiring in only a few moments as he passed over hundreds, then thousands of minds throughout the city as he tried to expand his reach. He could sense the population in his mind's eye, Theed's inhabitants all going about their nightly business and he in the center of it all. Then he was beyond the city, and it was easier going. There were less people beyond the city's domain, only a few glimpses of humanity as he passed over small towns, reaching yet farther. The intense concentration was draining him steadily, loosening his grip on consciousness as he tried to read the Force, to sense one small mind among the masses.

And there it was, just before he blacked out: for the briefest of moments, _Eliatra_. But the touch of her mind was accompanied by a scream of pain, not his but hers, yet in the searing connection he received one piece of information. He clutched that word to his heart and memorized it as his legs gave way and he slumped against the doorway, all but dead to the world.

He woke groggy and starving, a damp mist permeating his tunic and cloak and beading on his tousled hair. The gray light of dawn was already replacing the street lights with its own ethereal hue, seeming to sap the color from the usually vibrant city. Despite the dreariness of the morning, the fresh light offered a new start and the possibility for success after the crushing failure of the previous day. He was still lying there, contemplating what to do, when the door opened behind him and the occupant of the building discovered him.

"Oy, what're you doing there? Get off my porch!" The swarthy, heavyset man aimed a kick at Orion's back, which he narrowly avoided by leaping to his feet and landing in a crouch at the foot of the steps.

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized quickly, straightening his tunic as he stood. The man, apparently taking him for a homeless person, merely grunted and turned away to walk back into the store. Orion glanced at the awning and noticed the sign for the first time: **GARRAFF'S GENERAL EMPORIUM**. "Hey!" he shouted just as the door started to close.

The shopkeeper grudgingly glanced back at the youth. "What?"

"You're the owner of this, ah, remarkable establishment, correct?"

"And what if I am?" The man had begun to shut the door again as though he was afraid Orion would try to rob him.

Orion cut to the chase. "Do you sell food? I have credits," he added, rummaging in his pocket and pulling out a few chips.

"Wait here." The door closed completely.

Orion waited until he was sure that the store owner had merely gone inside to call the authorities, but just as he was about to leave, the owner re-emerged with a few generous slices of bread and some unusual-looking fruit. The padawan shoved a twenty-credit chip at him and took the food with a grin. "Perfect, perfect. Keep the change. Have a beautiful day!"

Food in hand, he hurried off down the street toward a grandiose public building that Khvee had pointed out a few days ago, one of several libraries in Theed. It wasn't access to the archives that he needed, however, as much as it was access to an extranet terminal that he could use to find Eliatra.

He had come to the conclusion that, while the help of the Queen's Guard would be useful in breaking down the defenses of whatever group had taken her, the group would be likely to use the hostages to their advantage once they knew their security was breached. This was not a situation that was favorable to Eliatra—as the more dispensable of the two hostages—and he had a feeling that if he could only infiltrate the base by himself, he would have far more luck than an armored squad would. Slipping in unnoticed would give him time to get in and ensure Eliatra and the Queen's safety. _Then_ he could alert the Guard and the Masters to his whereabouts, and they could make their way into the base to rescue all three while Orion protected the two women. Actually getting there was going to be tricky, but Orion was confident he could do it.

The library was fortunately open when he arrived. Stuffing the last of the bread in his mouth and dropping the fruit into his pockets, he secured a terminal and rubbed his hands together in preparation.

_Search Query?_ Said the screen after he had logged in.

Orion typed _MEDELLAS_.

There was only a smattering of holonews articles that referenced the word, but it gave him the gist of what he needed: _**Spice trafficking uncovered in sting, Medellas involved; Medellas Society linked to recent illegal arms cache discovery; Fhitger trial sheds new light on Medellas dealings.**_

It was a smuggling ring, apparently. Orion considered this as he proceeded to the Theed City Crime Authority site and hacked into their protected database using a few overrides he'd 'borrowed' from his Master's datapad for just such an occasion. That the Queen and Eliatra had been taken by smugglers made him feel better than if Erebin had been behind this. Unfortunately, the Authority didn't have much more information about the group than the news articles did; there were only a few names of people associated with the organization, all of whom had been imprisoned. He wasn't going to let this stop him, however. He had one thing on his side that the Authority and the Queen's Guard didn't, and that was his tenuous mental link to Eli. Now that he knew roughly where she was, he could touch her mind with less effort and use that contact to locate her. What he did remember from the night before was that she was too far away to reach by foot or even landspeeder. This was going to require a ship, and Orion knew exactly where to get one.


	23. Resistance

**A/N:** Wow, what a hiatus! I've finally come back to this after a year of letting it sit and a few false starts... and we might be back in business. It's good to get back into Orion and Eliatra's minds again--I'm hoping to complete a few more chapters in the coming months. Thanks for reading and please leave me a review if you've taken the time get this far!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Star Wars or any of the associated characters, ideas, etc etc etc.

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Resistance**

Eliatra slept fitfully that night, her drowsing interrupted by Orion's painful mental contact a few hours after Raska had stormed out. She had only been able to throw a single word at him before the inhibitors had forced her to draw back, but the idea that rescue might be on the way lifted her mood despite the pounding migraine and stiff back that greeted her in the morning.

"Manacles don't do much for a person's beauty rest," she croaked at Raska when he entered the medical bay an hour after she'd woken up.

"Just imagine what your queen might be going through," he snapped at her. "Because of your thoughtless attempt to escape, you have been separated from her and she might be even worse off than you."

His reminder was more subduing than the flippant sneer she had expected from him, and her face must have reflected her remorse because he nodded decisively. "I thought as much. _Now_ you regret your actions. Well, it's a little late for that now, isn't it?" He stalked over to a dispenser on the wall and pulled out a packaged needle, then rummaged in a cabinet with his back turned to her. "How well do you fight with your off hand?"

"What?" Her migraine was making it difficult to concentrate on the conversation, and she wondered if she'd misheard him.

"Your left hand. Can you wield a saber with it?" He turned to her with a filled syringe in hand and snapped the needle onto it.

"Not as well as my right," she admitted, eyeing the syringe. "What is that?"

"This is why you should be equally good with both hands," he replied, ignoring her question. "You can't be dependent on just one. Better yet, dual wield." He pulled her sleeve up from her left arm and seized her bicep as she flinched away. "Hold still and I won't have to stab you."

Eliatra relaxed slightly, but squeezed her eyes shut as the needle penetrated her skin. She waited until he had withdrawn it to speak again. "Now are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Kolto." Raska tossed the needle into a disposal bin a few steps away and crossed his arms silently, watching her with his mouth set in a line.

She blinked as the kolto quickly began to take effect, her headache subsiding significantly. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"You'd rather I didn't?"

"I'm not complaining. But I tried to escape and you haven't killed me yet. A lot of people like you wouldn't be so… merciful."

"It's not me," he said flatly. "It's Altus. He's not big on unnecessary bloodshed."

"And you are?"

"I follow orders," he stated coldly.

She fell silent, choosing her next words carefully. "What is Altus going to do with me?"

"If you're lucky, let you go once the Queen agrees to his demands. If you're not, kill you as a way of getting her to do what he wants."

"He likes me."

Raska shook his head swiftly. "Don't mistake mercy for kindness. Your life is only useful to him as a bargaining tool, that's all. Keeping you alive is convenient for him. I'd advise you keep it that way." He held her gaze for a long moment, mouth drawing into a subtle frown and his eyes darkening to a shadowy amber. He took a step back and sat in the stiff chair beside her bed, staring at the floor in thought.

"Do you… like working for Altus?" Eli ventured after a few minutes of silence. She was genuinely curious; the zabrak's unexpected moments of gentility hinted at something beyond his dark façade.

He glanced back to her, expression clouding over, but his commlink crackled before he could form a reply.

"Raska, where are you?" Eliatra thought she recognized Altus's voice, brisk and cold.

His eyes lingered on her before he stood up, walking a few steps away from her bed as he responded to the message. "In the medical bay, watching the Jedi."

"_What are you doing?_" Kadela's voice sounded briefly over the comm before Altus replied.

"Our Highness is being… difficult. I think she needs some persuasion to see the value of our plan."

"_I hope you know that I will not be swayed by physical inj—_"

"Kill the Jedi, Raska."

*****

Orion walked into the Theed Spaceport as confidently as any of the other ship-owners milling about in the wide, brightly lit lobby. The numbers seemed sparser than they should have been, something that worried Orion until he remembered the lockdown that the Queen's Guard had placed on the planet's spaceports—no new travelers in or out until the Queen was rescued. There were several lines of angry pilots demanding exit from the spaceport from weary employees who couldn't grant them access. He paused by a large, nondescript sculpture, calculating his next move. Not only would he have to break into a hangar bay, but he would need to bypass any of his chosen vehicle's security codes, learn how to start it before guards overpowered him, and then override the force shield locking every ship in the port in its hangar.

"Orion, where are you?" Khvee's voice surprised him out of his thoughts, and he glanced around guiltily before realizing the voice had been coming from his pocket. He pulled out his commlink and pressed the _Transmit_ button before he had fully composed an answer. "Sorry, Master. I'm at the uh, the, uhh… library. The archives. I wanted to check…something."

"You couldn't do that from here?"

"Have you found a lead to their whereabouts yet?" He crossed his fingers in the hopes that the question would derail the Nautolan's suspicion.

"Not yet." His sigh created a soft static. "You should come back here. We need all the help we can get—we've brought some possible eyewitnesses in for questioning that may be able to identify the ship."

"Didn't Master Austrina get a good enough look at it? She was _right there._"

"She wasn't able to catch any identifying markings. Unless you have a better idea…? We even tried to find them through the Force, while you were gone last night. Austrina couldn't feel anything within a hundred kilometers of the city. Either they're off the planet, or Eliatra is…"

"She's not dead," Orion snapped angrily.

"Of course not," Khvee said placatingly. "I was just going to say that a hundred kilos isn't very far. We were both tired—and there are a lot of complicating factors. It's easy to miss one mind, even a familiar one, among a mass of others. _If_ they're still on the planet, they may well be on the opposite side."

_But they aren't. I felt her, even if Master Austrina couldn't,_ Orion thought. How had he found Eliatra when even a Jedi of Austrina's caliber had failed to sense her? He was no prodigy.

"If we can discover some kind of distinguishing marking on the kidnapper's ship, we might be able to track it down or scan for it on the planet's surface," Khvee continued. "We need you here to help question witnesses—right now it's the best option we have."

"Master Khvee, when I was at the archives… well, I know we already looked through all the criminal groups that might be responsible for kidnapping Kadela. But did we consider the Medellas?"

There was a pause, then Khvee replied, a new alertness in his voice. "What makes you say that?"

"I just… saw an old headline about the Fhitger trial, and I thought… well, they sounded like they would stand to benefit a lot from a free pass on smuggling their goods."

"No more than anyone else. And Elza Fhitger sold out most of their ringleaders in her plea bargain."

"But not _all_ of them. Just…call it a hunch, Master. I think we should look into them a little further. I'm going across town to check on a possible lead, alright? I'll let you know what I find out."

"Orion, you can't—" His thumb tapped the power button on the small display and the device powered down. He couldn't let the Masters slow him down now. That information would be enough to get them on the right track; by the time he found Eliatra, they might even be on their way.

Sidling up to the check-out counter, he bent over and pretended to adjust his boot while listening to the nearest ship-owner's conversation with the Ithorian behind the counter.

"Look, I just need to put this in my ship, alright?" The frazzled-looking man, wearing a crimson and ivory flight jacket, tapped a box he had set on the counter. "It's valuable and I don't want it sitting around in my hotel room while I'm stuck here."

The Ithorian muttered something unintelligible in its guttural voice. "[Take this keycard; it will give you limited access to the hangar and your ship. If you attempt to disable the force field, you will be arrested.]"

"Thank you." The pilot sounded more disgruntled than grateful as he took the keycard from the Ithorian, picked up his box and strode quickly toward one of the elevators at the far side of the lobby. Orion followed him at a distance, then hurried to step inside the lift after him before the doors shut. The pilot shot him a questioning look and Orion cursed inwardly; being seen wasn't part of his plan. Luckily, the man seemed preoccupied with his package, and he stepped off the lift at level twenty-three without a backward glance.

His hopes of getting the pilot alone dimmed as they proceeded down the wide corridor. Guards were stationed at intervals along the curved wall, at least one for every hangar bay door. If he was going to get the ship—assuming he could even fly the thing—he would have to do it in a way that wouldn't raise suspicion from anyone watching. The pilot finally came to a stop at Hangar 238B and raised his card to the lock beside the entrance. Still walking toward him to catch up, Orion reached out with the Force and nudged the man's box out of his grasp. The parcel slipped to the floor and thudded lightly on impact, its contents rattling loudly. The two guards within eyesight of the hangar glanced to the pilot at the disturbance, a brief distraction—but all that the padawan needed. He reached for the Force again and drew it around himself as he had done on Coruscant, envisioning his form vanishing into thin air.

Muttering impatiently under his breath, the pilot picked up his box again and quickly swiped his keycard over the lock. The door opened and Orion slipped in after him, treading lightly on the metal floor so as not to betray his presence. He couldn't hold back a smile as soon as he caught sight of the pilot's ship; a sleek bronze fighter, designed to hold two people and even armed with a modest cannon, sat like bird about to take flight from the massive hangar. The force field glittered a pale purple on the opposite side of the room, blurring the visible landscape beyond the spaceport.

The pilot, still unaware of Orion's presence, was making his way toward the fighter to deposit his box. The sudden realization that his entire plan was neither safe nor guaranteed to succeed hit him in the gut, but he stuffed away any thoughts of failure and quickly scanned the hangar. On the right side of the room, in typical spaceport design, a tiny control room was built into the wall at the top of a set of stairs. Orion climbed up to it as quietly as possible and glanced in the window, then sighed in relief. No one was inside—probably due to the port's lockdown. Glancing quickly to the pilot, who was halfway into his fighter and oblivious to anyone else, he overrode the door lock and walked into the control room, gaze sliding over every console and control panel. A likely suspect for the force field controls presented itself in the main monitor, currently idling with information about the hangar's current occupant on the screen.

Shutting off the force field would be easy, he quickly discovered, but overriding the lockdown individually without triggering some sort of alarm would be more difficult. He needed the access codes of someone with the clearance to leave whenever they wanted, regardless of a lockdown…

Samarn. _Of course._ Fortunately he remembered the codes Samarn had used to access various databases back at the palace, and even more fortunately they worked. Orion made a mental note to inform the Guard exactly how weak their security system was.

**Access granted,**the screen flashed. **Overriding lockdown protocol in Hangar 238B. Force field powering down in 5… 4… 3…**

Orion glanced out the window and realized with a start that the pilot was still there, package evidently stored away. He stepped onto the wing and jumped down, brushing his hands.

**2… 1…**

Orion's stomach lurched. If the pilot saw the shield power down, there was no way he'd simply accept the fact and walk away without telling someone. Tearing back to the console, he punched buttons furiously to no avail. The countdown ended at zero, the screen's readout returning to its former state. Rushing out to the top of the steps, he was just in time to see the field fade to nothing and the pilot's head turn sharply to notice it. The padawan held his breath and hoped for the impossible. The bay was silent for a full three seconds; the pilot leaned forward, squinting at the hangar opening in disbelief.

Two things happened simultaneously then. The pilot, deciding that he wasn't imagining the force field's disappearance, reached up to climb back into his fighter—and the hangar roared with a deafening alarm. "They were _private access codes!_" Orion yelled in frustration, voice lost in the noise. Any further thought on his new predicament abruptly vanished as the fighter's engine powered up, its whine barely noticeable above the alarm.

"No! No, no! My ship! I need that!" Leaping over the railing and barely cushioning his fall with the Force, Orion hit the ground running in a desperate attempt to catch the pilot before the cockpit hatch shut. The Force prickled up his back in warning and he threw up a shield behind him without looking, the energy absorbing a few blaster bolts from the guards beginning to stream into the bay. He'd dropped his Force invisibility about the time that the alarm had gone off, making him an easy target for the guards.

The fighter was starting to turn around to line up for the bay door, taxiing just slowly enough for Orion to lunge for one wing. He scrambled onto it, legs flailing at the edge before finding a foothold, then threw himself onto the now-closed hatch and hauled at the edge—no good. The pilot scowled up at him and pushed the fighter forward, causing it to jerk and nearly upsetting Orion. Ducking to avoid a few more blaster shots, he desperately reached for the Force and shoved it indelicately at the controls within the cockpit. The fighter spun in a tight half-circle, this time speeding toward the guards, who scattered to avoid being crushed. Looking entirely fed up, the pilot reached for a belt holster and pulled out a blaster pistol of his own, then punched a button at the side of the control panel. Orion found his resting spot atop the hatch receding, and slid back onto the nose as the pilot leaped up to shoot at him. The first shot flew wide, but it was all the pilot needed; he sat back down and started to close the hatch again, lining up the fighter once more to leave the hangar. Scrambling for traction, Orion got his feet under him and leaped for the half-closed cockpit, torso hitting the top of the controls and head nearly in the pilot's lap.

"_Get off my ship!_" the pilot roared, struggling to get his blaster where he could aim it at Orion in the cramped space. The padawan reached for the pistol, then gasped in pain and jerked back his hand for a moment—a blaster shot had thudded into his calf, still exposed to the guards outside. Drawing on the Force with all he had, he seized the pilot's shirt and somehow hauled him halfway out of the cockpit, then shifted to get one leg in and shoved the man the rest of the way out. He collapsed untidily into the seat and punched the button to shut the hatch, heart thudding noisily in his chest.

The array of controls confronting him now would have been easy enough to figure out if he hadn't been both on the run from the law and less than twenty meters from the edge of the hangar bay—and accelerating. Opting for the large handle he'd pushed earlier to turn the ship around, he shoved it forward and hoped for the best. The fighter leapt forward like a startled cat and started climbing as soon as the wheels left the floor of the hangar. He eased up on the throttle and it started to level out, the spaceport diminishing beneath him. Adrenaline gave way to giddiness as he realized he'd pulled it off. He'd _actually done it!_ Found a fighter, beaten the lockdown, avoided the Guard…

The fighter's communicator light flashed green. "_Laren's Lida, _this is the Theed Spaceport Control Tower. Cease your flight and return to the spaceport immediately. If you continue on your current trajectory we will be forced to take aggressive disciplinary action." Orion glanced around for the comm headset, then spotted it and put it on. "_Laren's Lida,_ cease your flight! Do you copy?"

"This is the pilot of _Laren's Lida._ I'm afraid I can't do that. I'm with the Jedi and I'm going to rescue the Queen." _By myself._ Now that he thought about it, the idea did seem a little far-fetched. Well, it was too late to back down now.

"The Jedi? _Lida,_ we have no such notice of authorization from Captain Samarn. Land your craft or we _will_ shoot you down!"

Proximity sensors started beeping rapidly as they picked up two larger, government-issue fighters approaching him from behind. He swallowed, genuinely nervous for the first time in the whole ordeal. If he survived this, Khvee and the Jedi Council would have his head for it.

"Control tower, my name is Orion Rivalen and I am with the Jedi team assigned to Queen Kadela's security detail. It is _my responsibility_ to find her and this is the only way I can do it. I promise I'll bring the ship back in one piece—but you need to let me go or she'll die!"

The cockpit fell silent except for the proximity alarm. He eyed it nervously; the other fighters were maintaining their distance. Suddenly they dropped away, headed back toward the planet's surface.

"Permission granted, Rivalen." This wasn't the first speaker, but someone more familiar—Samarn, he realized with a jolt. "Please radio us your position when you find her. Good luck."

"Thank you, sir. I will. You'll hear from me soon." He sucked in a deep breath and winced as the searing pain returned to his lower leg. Banking the fighter due east, he settled back in his seat and gazed into the horizon. "Rivalen out."

* * *


	24. Risk

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Four: Risk

* * *

Eliatra's heart hammered against her ribs as Altus's command hung in the air. The Zabrak hesitated, looking across the room. "Is this what it's come to, Altus?" he said softly into the comm without turning toward the padawan. "Murdering children?"

"You never had a problem with it before, Raska. You rejected your Jedi ways long ago, now get over yourself and kill her!"

"_No!_" Kadela yelled again from Altus's end. "Leave her alone, she has no part in this!"

"Only if you'll reconsider your offer, Highness."

"I…"

"Raska?"

The Zabrak slowly removed his lightsaber hilt from his belt and ignited it, holding his comm at arm's length to transmit the blade's droning hum.

"I will not be terrorized by a would-be crime lord! The people of Naboo have chosen me to govern them with integrity, not to bow to the wishes of any thug! Do what you like, but there is _nothing_ that will change my mind. If you kill her, you will only ensure an even more painful demise from the Jedi before my Guards get to you!"

The comm crackled for a few moments before Altus chuckled, a slow, satisfied laugh. "A moving speech indeed, my queen. You have convinced me. Raska? Cut off her leg at the knee."

Raska finally turned to Eli, face blank. She blinked at him, barely able to breathe. At least death by lightsaber would be quick and… well, quick, if not painless. But this? The fact that lightsabers cauterized on contact was no consolation to the fact that her leg was about to be a stump. Her stomach heaved, fingers trembled, eyes locked on the saber's pulsing center.

"Don't do this," she whispered.

He lifted the blade and met her gaze. His other hand temporarily released the _Transmit_ button on the comm. "Scream," he said, then opened transmission again and swung the blade down. Eliatra shut her eyes and screamed, voice cracking under the strain. Heat radiated against her leg and an acrid stench filled the air, burning fabric and—

"It's done," Raska stated roughly into the comm, shutting off his saber. Eli opened her eyes to meet his gaze again, panting heavily, then looked down, wondering if she was simply in shock or if leg amputations were always this painless.

Her leg was still intact. She wiggled her toes to be sure, then noticed the still-smoking hole in the cot two inches from her knee. Raska raised his eyebrows when she looked up at him and pressed a finger to his lips.

"She's fainted from the shock," he reported into the comm.

"Good. Stay there; I'll send a guard for the leg. I'm sure the queen would like to see a souvenir of her decision."

"_You bas-"_ Kadela's frantic scream was cut short as Raska switched off the comm and dropped it into his pocket.

Eliatra swallowed and stared at him. "Thank you."

"I hope you're worth this," he said grimly, bending to unlock the cuff that shackled her to the cot frame.

She had no idea what was going on, but she sat up as soon as the cuff was off and swung her feet to the floor. She wasn't about to question his decision to help her. "How much time do we have?"

"Not much. Can you walk?"

Eli stood a bit unsteadily, rolling her shoulders and wincing as the movement affected her broken arm. "I think so. Can you take this thing off?" She ran her fingers over the lock at the back of the neural inhibitor collar.

"I could, but I don't think that's a good idea." His gaze shifted to her broken arm, her bare feet, and the torn and bloodied white robe that hung loosely on her shoulders. "It's new technology, unperfected—you'd probably pass out from the sudden flood of information to your brain. It's meant to be taken off in stages."

"Then how am I supposed to defend myself?" Eli fought to keep the panic out of her voice. "My arm is _in a sling,_ if you didn't notice!"

"And if it weren't for me, you'd be lying in a cot with one leg. You'll just have to trust me and stay close. We'll get your lightsaber first, alright? Come on." He grabbed her left bicep and held it tightly, though not painfully, and led her out the nearest set of doors into a long dark-paneled hallway. "You'll have to carry it in your off hand. I know you're not as good that way, but it will have to do."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, passing dim metal blast doors with no windows. This part of the compound was utterly silent; every scuff of her bare feet against the ice-cold tile floor seemed to echo on the stark walls. "Why are you doing this?" she half-whispered, afraid to make a sound.

"Because…" Raska exhaled after a moment. Conflict shadowed his amber eyes when he glanced briefly at her. "Because I was a Jedi, once, and then I was stupid, thought I knew better than their code and their rules. They cast me out and never gave me a second chance to show them who I really was. So I'm showing you."

"But I'm just a padawan. How could I—"

"I was just a padawan, too." He pulled her to a stop in front of another nondescript door and keyed in a code without really looking at the display. "They took my future away from me. You, though—you've got _something._ I don't know what it is." The doors slid open and he led her inside a small, dark room filled with crates and lockers. What looked like heavy battle suits were stacked in one corner. He walked to a workbench in another corner, opened a narrow metal box, and pulled out a familiar hilt. Eliatra instantly recognized the curved gold design of her saber and reached for it as he turned back to her. He kept holding on to it, though, catching her eyes in the dark armory.

"If you can get out of here with the Queen intact, having saved her from the most prominent crime organization on Naboo, you _will_ go on to do great things. You might be a padawan now, but someday you will have power and responsibility—lives to save, decisions to make. You can return the favor to someone else."

"But I never would have gotten out of here if you hadn't decided to help me," she whispered.

"We all have our paths, Sabre. Sometimes the true heroes are those unsung." He released the hilt into her grasp and walked swiftly to the door, peering into the hallway before motioning her to follow.

She padded after him, running her thumb over the ridges and buttons on her saber hilt. It felt good to have it back, like she was beginning to regain control of her situation. At the same time, however, the hilt felt clunky and awkward in her left hand, rather than the extension of her arm she usually sensed it as. Her master had drilled her in some off-hand work, but it had been a while and she'd never sparred with her left hand before. Eli doubted she would be able to fend off blaster shots very well—especially with her Force senses blocked this way—but she held out hope that she would get through this if she stayed close to her unlikely ally. Realizing that she still had no idea where they were going, she caught up to his side. "What's your plan, anyway?"

"Get the Queen, get you two in a ship, and distract Altus so you can get away."

"That's it? It's that simple?"

"No." He looked briefly down at her, doubt shading his stern expression for the first time. "But we don't know what the in-between steps will be yet. We'll figure them out when we get there. If your friends show up to help, so much the better."

"You mean you're just making this all up on the spot?"

"You could say that." He looked startled when she grinned suddenly. "What?"

"It's just… I have a friend who's a lot like that, too."

*****

Less than an hour after departing Theed but thousands of miles away from it, Orion had given up scouring the rolling landscape for possible bases and resorted to adjusting the bronze fighter's sensors to pick up unusual signals. The criminal base would undoubtedly notice him before he noticed them and hopefully would signal him if he got close.

The commlink flashed an incoming transmission and his heart leapt—was he here already?

"Rivalen, please report your current location and status." It was only Captain Samarn, sounding official and distant. Orion briefly wondered why the Masters weren't the ones communicating with him.

Eyeing the planetary coordinates on the control panel, he rattled off the numbers and paused to glance out the window. A brooding storm hung over the ground a short ways ahead, and he could already feel strong gusts of wind buffeting the little craft. "Status is… alive. I haven't found anything yet, but I think I'm close…"

"I'm deploying troops to your location right now. We'll be there within the hour."

"Orion?" Master Austrina's voice unexpectedly came through the transmission. "Don't do anything stupid."

He couldn't hold back a soft laugh. "You mean more than I've done already?"

"You know what I mean." He could almost see her lips pursing with the same concerned look she'd given him on the night the Queen disappeared. "Your primary objective is to find Kadela and get her out of there _alive_. If… if it's too late for…"

"It won't be, Master." Orion's fingers tightened on the controls.

"Just don't waste time down there, and for Force's sake _don't_ try to engage whoever's holding her hostage."

"Of course. Rivalen out." Queen first, then Eli. _A Jedi's life is sacrifice._ He let the mantra run through his thoughts, but it did little to settle him.

There was a tug in the force, a gut hunch that told him to swing the fighter lower and bank over the shadowed side of a mountain. The rain was dense here and did away with any visibility he'd had, pouring over the fighter like a thousand tin cans. He flew closer and closer to the trees, about to give up and try the next valley when suddenly a cave-like opening at the base of a slope caught his eye. All but invisible save for a few flashing blue lights at the top, it would have been unnoticeable to anyone flying above at a more usual altitude. He leveled out the fighter and cruised straight in to the open bay, setting it down alongside a few other small crafts without so much as a peep from the comm. "So much for landing protocol," he muttered. He sent off his new coordinates to Samarn, then patted his saber to make sure it was still in place before opening the hatch and cautiously poking his head out. A few guards—heavily armed and armored, he noted—were making their way toward the fighter. Orion sized up his options, glancing around the cabin of the fighter, and noticed the mysterious brown box that the fighter's real owner had put there.

"_Laren's Lida_? You're not on our arrivals list for today." The apparent spokesperson of the three guards, a heavily built Rodian, gripped his blaster rifle warily as the padawan leapt to the ground and stumbled a bit as his bad leg took the impact. He regained his balance and smiled apologetically at the Rodian, shifting a package under one arm and straightening out his tunic with the other.

"Yeah, uh, sorry about that. I've got a _special delivery _for our, uh…" What was the leader's name? Fhitger? Better not risk it. "…fearless leader that he's been expecting a while. I wasn't sure when I'd get it in so I couldn't give him an exact time I'd come by."

"[Why the Jedi robes?]" A porcine Gamorrean grunted from behind the Rodian.

"Stole 'em. What better disguise for a spice runner?" He managed a weak smile and shifted his weight onto his good leg, hoping that a few days lacking in hygiene might have resulted in some chin stubble to keep him from looking so young.

"Right." Still not looking entirely convinced, the Rodian reached for his comm unit. "I'll just call and let them know you're on your way in."

"Uh… that's not necessary." Dropping the box, Orion hurled a Force wave at the three and whipped out his lightsaber, dodging the first round of bolts from the quickly-recovered Rodian. In a few seconds he'd disarmed the Rodian, sliced off the hand of one of the Gamorreans, and stabbed the second who had almost cleaved him in two with a battle axe. On his knees, the Rodian reached for his comm but Orion swung around and leveled his blade under his chin, panting a little. "Don't touch it," he growled, "and I'll let you live."

"Fool Jedi, you think you'll get through this base alive?" The guard whipped a dagger out of a chest pocket and slashed brutally sideways, meaning to cut into Orion's calf, but the padawan leapt up and swung his saber through the guard's arm—then into his chest as he let out a high pitched scream that echoed off the hangar walls.

Shutting down his blade, he limped a few steps toward the back of the hangar before stopping to attend to his leg. He wouldn't make good progress if he couldn't walk.

The burn was bad, but not the worst he'd seen. He managed to heal some of the deepest parts of the wound with his own meager ability, but had to give up before the skin was totally patched and start moving again. Better. He really would have to get some healing lessons from Eli.

The door at the back of the hangar was wide open and led into an antechamber with a console against the far wall. Perfect—perhaps it would have access to schematics of the base's layout. He was able to hack it quickly, but there was no helpful floor layout. There was, however, a log mentioning a security center in the level below—a good place to start.

The hall was void of security guards and cold, lit by bright bluish lights that reflected on the black and silver floor and walls. Orion's ears strained for any sound beyond his own footsteps, bringing back only phantom echoes. An elevator greeted him around a corner and he rushed to hit the button, still glancing around warily. The banality of waiting for an elevator in the middle of a spice-dealing base struck him abruptly, prompting a chuckle to escape, but he choked it down and stepped into the lift as soon as the transparent doors slid open.

The security center was just a few doors down from the lift and helpfully labeled. Orion cautiously peered in the tinted window and counted two people inside, a man in a blue uniform and a Twi'lek female in black hunched over a glowing console. Rows of security monitors lined the far wall with flickering blue video feeds.

Taking a deep breath, Orion squared his shoulders and pulled the Force around him in a cloak of invisibility before opening the door. He shut it as soon as he could, but the shaft of light into the dark room still alerted the two individuals within. The Twi'lek turned, eyes narrowing at the empty doorway. "Hello?"

The uniformed man wasted less time on the door, turning back to his own console. "Probably just a glitch with the lock. I noticed the armory sticking a bit the other day. You know everything's been falling apart lately."

The woman frowned but sat down in another chair. "Ever since Kiam…"

"Altus is a loose cannon, Veck. You just have to accept that he's gonna snap sometimes and people will get in the way. It doesn't help that he's been uptight about this kidnapping thing for weeks."

"I don't like it. We could be next."

He turned to her, hands spread reassuringly. "Hey, we're holed up in here by ourselves. There isn't much chance he's gonna come in here just to get upset and… you know."

Taking advantage of their preoccupation with each other, Orion stepped softly to the row of monitors and scanned them quickly, looking for any sign of a familiar face. Most showed long empty hallways or crate-filled warehouses staffed by guards in mercenary armor. One had a few beds—a barracks? infirmary? Two men entered and hurried to a particular cot, pointing to what looked like a dark spot on one side. Shifting over the other monitors, Orion's stomach clenched as he saw what looked like a woman in white with dark hair huddled against a wall in a cell, her face against her knees. The corner of the monitor read DET-5. It was impossible to tell if she was Eliatra or Kadela. Looking on over the last few rows, his gaze stopped again on what seemed at first to be another small warehouse—no, an armory, going by the suits of hardshell armor stacked in a corner and the weapons lockers against one wall. A Zabrak in a dark cloak walked in and went straight for a workbench in the corner. Orion almost stopped breathing when someone else came into the frame—a woman in a torn white handmaiden's gown, her arm bound against her chest with some kind of sling. The Zabrak turned and proffered her something small and metallic.

A lightsaber.

The man sitting only a few feet away from Orion turned back around and glanced over the monitors, then started to turn away before catching something and looking back, leaning closer—Orion reached silently for his saber and a speaker on the console below the monitors spoke loudly, making all three jump.

"Marrit, where are Raska and the Jedi?" It was a man's voice, level but bordering on dangerous.

The man—Marrit—reached for the reply button but didn't make it. Orion dropped his cloak, snatched his saber off his belt and pressed the blade end to the side of his head. "Don't move," he muttered. The entire room went silent and he glanced sideways at the Twi'lek, who was regarding him with her mouth hanging slightly open.

"Marrit, _what is their status?_"

_Think fast, Orion._ "Get up," he told his newfound hostage. Marrit obediently complied, hands held up, and shifted awkwardly backwards. Nodding at the Twi'lek, he motioned her toward the comm. "Tell him he's busy," he started, "and they're, uh… "

She moved to the console before he could finish his thought. "Marrit's out right now," she said smoothly, glancing briefly back at the two before continuing, "this is Vekana. Raska is en route to the freight bay with the Jedi."

Orion held his breath.

"Why wasn't I informed?"

"Sorry, sir, we thought he was acting under your orders. Shall I shut down warehouse access?"

"Yes, and the private bay as well. I'll deal with them myself."

"Very well, sir." She shut down the comm and turned to Orion. "You can let go of him now. I take it you're here for the Queen?"

Orion slowly lowered his saber and the man stepped away, rubbing the side of his head nervously. "And the Jedi," he said. "Are they really going to the freight bay?"

"More likely Detention, though I can't imagine how Raska's got himself involved in this. You'd better get moving if you want to help your friends. The freight bay is in the opposite side of the base from Detention, so you've got a little time."

"Why are you helping me?" he asked slowly.

Vekana pursed her lips, her violet eyes shifting briefly to Marrit. "Besides the obvious? Altus hasn't been the kindest of overlords lately. And I signed up for this job for money, not anarchy." She shrugged lightly.

"You should go," Marrit urged. "They'll be needing your help."

"Right." Nodding to them, Orion backed toward the door and left, picking up a run to return to the elevator. Detention was on one of the uppermost floors of the facility and if he got there first, he could get a head start on rescuing Kadela before Eli arrived. She was _alive, _he thought almost giddily. The reality of it, the fact that the possibility of her death was no longer hanging over his head, sent him running even faster. She was alive and he was going to save them all.

* * *

Sorry for the super long wait guys. I appreciate your reading so much!! You can check out this story (updated faster usually), associated artwork, and other fanfics at eliatra dot deviantart dot com.


	25. Absolution

**Chapter Twenty-Five: Absolution**

* * *

The elevator was agonizingly slow.

"How far away are the cells, anyway?" Eliatra muttered as floor after floor flashed past the lift doors.

"Near the top. The facility takes up a large part of the interior of this mountain." Raska was perfectly still, but his gloved fingers clenched around his saber hilt with telltale tension. "Her cell will be guarded. I'm going to have to take them down—here." Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a pistol and handed it to her after she hooked her saber onto her belt. "You can shoot with your left hand, can't you?"

She nodded.

"Just stay behind me and I'll keep you safe."

"What about Altus?"

"I'll take care of him when we get there." The doors finally slid open and he walked out, refusing to meet her worried stare.

The elevator opened onto a small lobby with a thick blast door on the opposite wall; no guards. "Where is everyone?" Eli asked, glancing around warily.

"No one gets past this door, in or out, without the codes," Raska said, keying something in to the adjacent panel. "Otherwise it sets off the safeguards."

"Safeguards?"

"Electric shock and neurotoxins."

"_Neurotoxins?_"

"He's paranoid." A tiny shrug and the door opened onto another sterile hallway, numbered doors lining the walls. "Ready?"

She nodded. They entered the hallway, silent for five steps until they rounded the corner and the three Gamorrean guards recognized them. "[It is the Zabrak! Kill them!]"

Eliatra ducked and fired as quickly as she could, the close range ensuring most of her shots hit the wide-bodied guards. Raska leapt at them, his goldenrod saber striking in heavy, measured arcs that the Gamorreans seemed to fall into rather than move away from. In seconds they had collapsed and Raska was already shutting down his blade and turning to the door. He keyed in the lock code but paused before opening the door, turning urgently to her.

"You're prepared to move as quickly to the fighter bay as you can?"

"It's my arm that's broken, not my leg. Of course."

"And you will protect the Queen?"

"With my life." She touched his arm, somber. "And you?"

"I will stay with you as long as possible. Just get her to safety." Breaking himself away, he tapped the door open and stepped inside the cell. "Your Highness, we have come to take you away."

"I _refuse_ to go anywhere with you _monst-_ Eliatra!" Kadela's mouth fell open as the padawan stepped into the doorway and grinned. "Your leg—you—what's…"

"It's a long story. We need to go now, quickly. You can thank Jedi Raska for all of this."

"Thank you," Kadela said sincerely to the Zabrak, who glanced to Eliatra with a half-smile before ushering them both out.

Eliatra and Kadela trailed Raska back to the door and waited as he keyed in the codes to let them out again, Eli clutching her pistol tightly in anticipation more enemies between them and escape. The doors slid open and almost immediately Raska ignited his saber, the yellow carving a swath through the air—Eli threw herself in front of Kadela and raised her blaster but—"No! _Stop!_"

Everything froze, the narrow space still humming with the sound of Raska's gold saber sparking against a familiar azure one.

"Orion!" Her voice cracked with relief and she rushed forward, Raska stepping back and Orion shutting down his saber after nearly being cleaved in two by the other man. He seized her and buried his face in her tousled hair, arms tight around her shoulders.

"Eli, _force_, Eli, I thought you might be…"

"I know," she whispered into his tunic, shoulders shaking with giddiness and relief. "Me, too."

Raska cleared his throat lightly. "Touching, but we should move now before our time is up."

Orion looked up abruptly. "I just came from Security—they sent him—Altus—to the other bay, the freighter bay. We might have a little time."

"Let's not waste it, then." The Zabrak hurried them all into the lift and directed it to the hangar level. Kadela leaned against the wall beside Raska, eyes turning thoughtfully to Orion, who was still resting his hand protectively on Eli's shoulder.

"If you're here, where are the other Jedi? And Captain Samarn?"

Orion colored slightly. "I, ah, thought it in everyone's best interest to come on my own, but—"

"_Orion._" Eli turned to level a glare at him. "You had better be joking right now."

"I'm not. But they're on their way!" he added hastily as even Kadela raised her eyebrows at him. "Look, I had my reasons. I didn't want some kind of hostage situation to arise—"

"We're _already_ in a hostage situation," Kadela pointed out dryly.

"I didn't want to compromise anyone's chances of survival, and I figured that if Altus didn't know anyone was coming, he'd be less likely to kill… either of you as a threat to the rescuers."

Kadela's eyes shifted from Orion to Eli and back again, realization settling subtly over her features. "It's still risky," she said reluctantly, "but I'm not going to begrudge any kind of rescue attempt as long as it's successful."

"We're working on it," Orion grinned.

The doors slid open to a dark open corridor and Raska peered out in both directions before motioning the three to follow him. "How far out is your backup?" he asked Orion quietly as they half-ran down the hall.

The padawan glanced down at his wrist-chrono before replying. "Maybe a half hour, if we're lucky?"

Raska cursed beneath his breath. "Not close enough. How big is the ship you came in?"

"A fighter. Two seats." Orion slowed a moment. "How will we…?"

"There's a small freighter you can take—authentication code is alpha-seven-three-six-jade-omega. It has an autopilot, should make things easier."

"Thank you," he murmured, searching the Zabrak's face for some kind of explanation as to why he was helping them. "You work for Altus?"

"I did," Raska said in a low voice. "And thank her." He nodded over his shoulder at Eliatra, who had dropped back to accompany Kadela. "If you make it out of here…"

"We will," Orion asserted.

"When you make it out… watch over her and let nothing tear you away."

"What?" His eyes narrowed.

"You know what I mean." The Zabrak's amber eyes fell on him with eerie understanding in their depths. "She will fight demons one day and she cannot fight them alone. _Do not lose her._"

"Right." Deciding agreement was the best option to his cryptic statement, Orion was about to ask how much further the bay was when his spine prickled and he pulled up short, Raska halting beside him. "We've got company," he muttered back to Eli.

"It's Altus," Raska breathed, clutching his saber. "They're coming this way." Bolting forward, the four dashed the remaining short distance to the private bay entrance. Raska punched the keypad furiously, cursing when the door refused to open. "He must have changed the lock codes!"

"Let me hack it," Orion volunteered, pushing Raska aside and hunching over the pad.

"They'll see you and shoot you as soon as they round that corner—"

"Varn-Xek Raska!"

All four looked up to see the armored criminal leader appear in the hall with a bevy of guards behind him. "Taking a little field trip with the prisoners, are we?"

"Altus, you can't kidnap a head of state just to serve your own petty agenda." Raska strode forward and Eli glanced to the keypad, surprised they hadn't started shooting already, to see that Orion had vanished—of course. The Force-cloak.

"We were doing quite well before you decided to give her up like the coward you are," Altus snarled, stepping forward as well. "What gave you cold feet? Was it the pretty young handmaid and her _Jedi mind tricks_?" His furious blue eyes shot to Eliatra, who tightened her grip on Kadela's upper arm.

Footsteps clattered down the hall behind them, and she glanced back to see a squad of armored guards shutting them off from any exit but the hangar door. Raska seemed to ignore them, but Eliatra could see his shoulders tense. "I decided to work with you years ago, Altus, because I wanted to spite my former masters and be my own man. But now you've gone too far, and I'm not going to help you slaughter innocents in the name of profit. You've owned me for too long."

A warm breeze raised hairs on the back of Eli's neck. "Be ready to run. I'll cover you," Orion whispered between her and Kadela.

"If that's the way you want it, Raska, then by all means go." Altus gestured broadly toward the hangar door. "Leave the Queen and I'll let you live, maybe even take your new friend. But everything you've done up to now has been your own choice. Don't try to lay any deaths by your hand on my conscience."

"_Bastard,_" Raska hissed through his teeth and drew breath to reply when the door abruptly slid open. Eliatra shoved Kadela through the entrance and grabbed her wrist as she sprinted ahead.

"_Fire!_" Altus shrieked. Blaster bolts roared after them but splashed harmlessly against Orion's force-shield bubble as he backed, now visible, into the doorway, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Eli and Kadela were on their way. Raska had ignited his saber and charged into the group of guards behind them, flinging screams and limbs against the walls with every swing.

"Go! Lock the door behind you!" he yelled, barely audible over the melee.

"I won't leave you behind!" Orion ignited his saber and was about to leap into the fray when Altus collided with his left shoulder and sent them both tumbling to the floor, a gleaming vibroblade inches from his throat and a manic grin stretched across his features. The padawan struggled to get his blade—which had switched off on Altus's impact—from underneath his body while avoiding the sword, which clanged heavily into the floor a moment later. Rolling from under the armored man, he scrambled to his feet and reeled backwards as a stray bolt caught him in the shoulder. The Force hummed a warning and he brought his lightsaber up just in time to catch another heavy swipe from Altus, gritting his teeth as the blade bore down against his wounded arm.

"_Go! _You don't have any more time!_"_ Raska broke their lock and forced Altus back, giving Orion time to retreat to the door. With one last worried glance at the battle, he shut the door and stabbed his saber through the controls, hopefully staving off any pursuers a little longer. Eliatra and Kadela were waiting at the hatch of a small freighter in the bay, a few dead guards scattered around them.

Orion grabbed Eli's arm as soon as he was close enough. "You alright?"

"I'll be better once we're out of here. _Your shoulder!_"

"Don't worry about that. Come on, let's go." He darted up the ramp and found his way to the cockpit, a cramped affair with a dizzying array of controls. Squeezing into the left seat, he was greeted by a tiny holographic twi'lek woman near the center console.

"Unauthorized pilot detected. Please enter your authorization code within ten seconds or anti-theft action will take place," she announced.

"Uh, alpha three seven, uh, I mean alpha seven three six jade omega!" Orion reflexively reached for his lightsaber as the twi'lek remained briefly silent.

"Authorization code accepted. I am the Jarv'ell Automated Droid Sub- and Hyperspace Piloting System, but you may call me JADAH. How may I assist you today?"

"I need to get out of here as quickly as possible. Please."

"Preparing the _Viridian Arrow_ for departure." The entire ship hummed around him as panels lit up and flashed; there was a distant hiss as the loading ramp shut and locked.

"Firing landing thrusters. Landing gear rising. Inertial dampeners activated. Please direct the ship out of the hangar now."

"How? This thing?" He tentatively laid his hands on a probable-looking set of handles.

"Do you have the training to pilot this ship?" The hologram's tone took on a touch of doubt. "If not, you may cause serious damage to the hull or—"

"That's not important right now!" Gritting his teeth and staring hard out the viewport, Orion nudged the control wheel to the left and felt the ship rumble obediently beneath him. _Not so bad,_ he thought, pushing slightly forward as the bay entrance came into view.

"Are we going yet?" Eliatra appeared at his elbow and grabbed the seatbacks to steady herself.

"Almost… Better sit down." His eyes stayed glued to the window as the freighter glided forward and finally broke into daylight, rumbling a little louder as flight thrusters replaced the landing thrusters. "Let's take her to Theed, Jadah."

"Affirmative, pilot."

*****

They met Captain Samarn's squadron of Guard fighters less than fifteen minutes after their escape from the base; four broke off to escort them back to the capital, while the rest continued on to shut down Altus's base and take him in for questioning—if he was still alive.

The _Viridian Arrow_ touched down in the palace's private bay with only a few unnecessary bumps. A veritable flood of Guardsmen headed by Captain Samarn immediately entered the freighter to retrieve Kadela, who refused to leave without her Jedi rescuers by her side.

The next few hours passed in a blur. Embraces mingled with scolding glances, wounds healed and neural inhibitors removed, reports to Samarn and promises of a later report to their Masters, and finally warm baths to wash away the tensions of the last few days.

Eliatra was bundled in a soft robe and brushing out her damp hair when the door of her quarters slid open behind her. She knew without looking who it was, the Force tingling warmly across her shoulders like an old friend. The sensation felt new after her loss of the Force during the last few days.

"Knock, knock." Orion slipped in and shut the door behind him, crossing the carpeted floor in bare feet and flopping down across the foot of her bed. "What a day, eh?"

"Where're the masters? I thought they'd be back by now." She ruffled her brush through his hair, not quite dry from his own bath.

"They're talking to Samarn and the Queen about that Altus guy. He almost killed me, you know, right before we flew out of there."

Eli leaned over his face and raised her eyebrows. "I came _this close_ to having my leg cut off by a lightsaber and carried to him on a platter. And they broke my arm. _And_ tortured me with that—"

"Okay! Okay." He grinned and spread his hands palms up. "You win. At least we're out of there." When she didn't smile, he sobered and brushed her chin. "El, you're alright. The Queen's safe. For a while there we thought… well, we just didn't know what they would do with you. But you're alive. I got you back."

"In one piece, no less." Her lips twitched and she leaned closer, brows furrowing again. "Orion, why did you come alone? Why didn't you at least bring the masters? You could have been compromised so easily—you saw what they did to me, just imagine if they had caught you."

"Because… because when I sensed you that night, I just… I had to, Eli. They really thought… Captain Samarn told me they might just kill you. You were just a handmaiden to them, useless. I didn't know if you would be alive or dead, and if there was any chance, any chance at all, that you might be alive, I had to get to you as soon as I could. I know it was stupid and reckless but… I had to. Eli…"

"It wasn't about the Queen, then, was it?" she whispered.

He exhaled lightly, cupping her jaw in one hand, and brushed his lips against hers.

"No," he murmured, one corner of his mouth tugging upwards, "it wasn't."


	26. Awakening

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Awakening**

* * *

Get up. Get dressed. Try not to overstretch arm in cast. Collect things from guest quarters. _"Eli, did you pack the trunk with your tunics already? I've got another cloak to…"_

Eat breakfast. Meet with Queen. Avoid Orion's gaze, though the taste of his lips still lingers. _"By the powers vested in me by the people of Naboo, I, Queen Kadela Amanarrel, award you this medal in recognition of your service…"_

Pack freighter. Wait for Masters. Talk with handmaidens. _"Is Dantooine nice? I've never been…"_

Board ship. Wave goodbye. Fake a yawn, retire to sleeping cabin, curl up on a bunk as the ship rumbles to life. Shut eyes, replay last night. Ship lurches, stabilizers kick in. _It was a kiss. Just a kiss. _

_There is no emotion._

Then what was the warmth that spread through her like honey when his grin passed her way?

_There is peace._

_There is no passion._

What was the longing that urged her to hold him, to brush her fingers through his hair?

_There is serenity._

_There is no chaos._

What was the turmoil that gripped her heart and made her afraid that last night was all a dream? That the Masters would read the guilt on her face and tear the two of them apart?

_There is harmony._

_Was there?_

"Eli. Eliatra, wake up. We're home."

A cool hand brushed her sleep-tousled hair away from her forehead, but it was only Austrina's eyes that met her own gaze.

"How are you feeling?" The Jedi Master offered a hand to help her padawan to her feet, standing back as she stretched carefully.

"Tired. Sore." Eli paused to consider. "Still in one piece."

Austrina smiled as the two headed out of the bunkroom. "Orion and Master Khvee already started unloading our things. I think we'd better get you to the infirmary to see if they can do anything more for your arm."

Though it was barely dawn on Dantooine, Jedi were already bustling about, barely giving a second glance to the pair as they descended from the docking bay into the lower levels of the academy. Eli shivered in the crisp morning air and pulled her cloak further around her shoulders, wincing as it chafed the still-sore areas around her throat. Other padawans nodded hello as she passed them, eyes lingering on her bandaged arm.

The healers at the infirmary had seen worse, of course, but still clucked disapprovingly when she disrobed to reveal the numerous other burns and cuts across her skin besides the still-healing bone in her arm. They worked busily around her, spreading kolto on some wounds and re-dressing others, warning her it might hurt. She felt nothing.

_Couldn't bear the thought of losing you… if you had died…_

"Did they do anything else to you, Padawan? Anything we… can't see? Padawan…"

_If I had lost you…_

"I'll talk to her later. Thank you, Master Veraque. I'll take her back to her quarters."

Austrina's arm was warm and strong around her shoulders, cautious of the wounds beneath the loose white robes they'd given her. They moved in silence toward the dormitories, through crowds of padawans and younglings heading to their morning training sessions.

"You're brave, Eli. A Knight might have failed in your position."

"I did fail, Master." She looked up, speaking aloud for the first time since leaving the ship. "I didn't stop the Medellas. I couldn't do a thing to protect the Queen." Bitterness crept into her voice. "Once they captured us, we were separated. They… they might have killed her, and I wouldn't have even been there to stop it."

"Eliatra." Austrina stopped and turned to face her, hands on her shoulders. "What happened on that platform, at the ceremony? Before the Medellas ship came?"

She thought back what felt like years. The heat, the crowds, lifting the crown high into the air, the glittering edge of the blade—"The handmaiden. She tried to kill Kadela. And she—she was the one who tried to shoot at us in the ballroom." She couldn't have been planted by Altus, because she clearly had wanted the Queen dead—the intent in that dagger was unmistakable. "Was it the Kharryaksri?"

"That's what Captain Samarn thought, when we talked to him before we left," Austrina said. "You stopped her from killing Kadela. If you hadn't been there, the whole mission would have been a waste."

"And the Sith," Eli remembered. "The one who…" She stopped, swallowing hard as echoes of his mental torture rippled across her skull. Austrina swiftly pulled her into a hug.

"Hush, Padawan. I just wanted you to know that you did not fail. Not by any measure."

They returned to Eli's dorm and Austrina helped her into bed with promises of breakfast soon to come. The door shut softly, leaving the padawan to stare mutely at the window opposite her bed. Soft rose light crept across the ceiling but did little to warm the chill that had wrapped itself around her. Her mind persisted in chewing over every facet of the last few days, though her body ached for rest. She eventually lapsed into a troubled sleep, brow still furrowed in unconscious worry.

When she finally woke, a tray of juice, lukewarm cereal, and a half-eaten berry pastry on a tray met her blurry eyes. Finding her legs cramped and drawn up beneath her, she moved to stretch them out and found the end of her bed considerably shorter than usual. A faint snore indicated the reason as she sat up to see a certain lanky teenager draped across the foot of her mattress.

He was peaceful, even endearing, his Adam's apple bobbing as he drew another slow breath. Gone was the intensity that had etched itself across his face the night before. In the cool white silence of her academy dormitory, it was hard to believe that they were anything _but_ the inseparable friends—only friends—they had always been.

Eliatra had never wanted to be so close, yet so far away from him. Running away and kissing him again both seemed equally viable options.

Without really thinking about it, she slipped a lightly bandaged hand beneath Orion's palm, lacing her fingers between his and tracing a rough knuckle with her thumb.

The slight movement stirred him from sleep, his hand reflexively closing on hers, then relaxing, then closing again as he focused ocean-blue eyes on her face. "Eli."

"Didn't Austrina tell you to let me sleep?" She smiled slightly in mock reproach.

He sat up, pulling up a knee to face her on the bed. "She might have, if she'd seen me sneaking in here." His cheeky smile faded slightly as he glanced down at their clasped hands, then back up. His gaze lingered a moment on the collar of blotchy puce bruises forming around her neck before returning to her eyes. "Eli," he said again, "I just, uh… I came to say I'm sorry. About last night."

Eliatra flushed, the kiss coming back in a rush; it had been interrupted by their masters entering the room before much could come of it. He searched her face for acceptance and tentatively reached to brush her tousled hair out of her eyes. The combined emotional weight of the last few days came crashing down on her shoulders all at once and she shut her eyes, drawing a breath at the vertigo.

"Come here," she whispered.

Obligingly he rose and moved to the head of her bed, fluffing her pillow and leaning back against the headboard behind her. Eliatra let him fold his arms around her shoulders and pressed her chin into the soft fabric of his tunic sleeves.

"You don't have to apologize," she murmured finally. His heart beat softly behind her, a steadier echo of her own fluttering pulse.

"No?" His lips pressed into her hair and she allowed herself a smile as he inhaled deeply. "I didn't want you to be mad or… or to stop being my friend. For a minute everything was perfect, and then…"

"Then what?"

"Then I was afraid I'd lost you. Again."

"Orion…"

"Hmm."

"We can't _do_ this. The Jedi… they'll never stand for it. You know the Code. The risks."

He shifted into a more comfortable position behind her and she could almost feel his stubborn frown. "And why can't we? You can't take the Code at face value anyway. If we really didn't have any emotion, we'd be a bunch of droids, wouldn't we? And it's not like we have to announce this to the world. Uh, whatever 'this' is." Doubt momentarily filtered into his voice, and he reached for the breakfast tray in an attempt to change the subject. "Scone?"

"Why didn't you finish it?" She eyed the bite taken out of the pastry and sampled a bit of the jam filling. "I thought you liked this kind."

"Too much jelly. Reminds me of… uh, never mind."

Momentarily derailed by attempting to remember which of his recent pranks involved jam, she mused for a moment before remembering their original subject. "What about when I was captured? What if that happens again and you have to choose between saving me or some innocent civilian? Or a whole city? Other Jedi have to be able to trust that you'll do the right thing."

"Eli." He paused, mulling over his next words before continuing, "What do _you_ want from this? From me?"

"The Jedi—"

"I'm not talking about the Jedi. I'm talking about you." His arms shifted, hands clasping gently over her heart. "What do you _feel_?"

Eliatra opened her mouth to reply, then stopped, realizing that she had no words. There was nothing to hide behind, nothing to disguise the little inner voice that always lurked behind her brave façade.

"Afraid," she whispered at last. "Lonely. Overwhelmed." The words felt strange on her tongue, but the moment she said them, she knew they were truths she had been denying. "I'm scared that I can't do this by myself."

Orion stayed silent for a long moment, then lifted his face from her hair and moved his lips to her ear, his breath tickling the short hair by her cheeks. "Then let me help you. I want to be here for you, Eli. _Always._" He squeezed her gently, minding the bruises at her throat, and brushed his lips against her cheek when she turned to see him out of her peripheral.

"_Always_ is a long time," she whispered. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

He didn't hesitate this time. "Yes."

*****

Eliatra was feeling well enough to go to dinner that evening, and after a little time to herself to freshen up and dress in a way that didn't highlight her various wounds, she made an appearance in the dining hall only to be swamped by a hug moments later.

"Eli! Austrina wouldn't let me see you and Orion just said you were pretty badly banged up and no one else was saying anything but here you are!" Trisana spoke so quickly Eli could barely understand her as she fluttered about, taking inventory of every visible scrape and burn.

The weary padawan held up her hands with a weak grin in an attempt to still Tris's worrying. "Relax, Tris, I'm fine, I just… want to get something to eat." She trailed off as she scanned the crowd for the familiar mop of jet-black hair.

"Right, of course. Come on, I'll help you." Tris seized her hand and led her to the food counter as though she was showing around a new padawan. "It's been so _dull_ here you'd never believe… though there's been a lot of talk of the Mandalorian attacks on the Outer Rim, and a lot of Jedi muttering about how we should do something about it…" She busily piled an assortment of dinner items on the tray as Eliatra glanced back over the rows of tables again, eyes finally catching on a hand waving her way.

"And you guys got to socialize with the _queen_ and fight Sith and… was it true, what Orion told me about the awards? Because I figured he was joking, since they _definitely_ wouldn't have let him head his own search patrol for you and the Queen…"

Eliatra followed her friend to Orion's table, passively muttering affirmations to seem like she was paying attention. What would he do in public? Would he let on what had passed between them in her room?

Tris plunked herself down squarely beside Orion and left the seat on her opposite side open to Eli, leaving her to wave a greeting to him before being besieged by a new set of questions. Orion interjected the usual exaggerations in their conversation, doing his best to appear the brave hero while Eliatra corrected with her side of the story.

"Okay, maybe I _didn't_ head up a whole squadron of fighters in the rescue effort," he conceded at one point when Eli pointed out his singular aloneness when he'd appeared at the base, "but I _was_ the one who found you and Kadela. If I hadn't left when I did, or gotten there when I did…" he trailed off, swallowing as an uncharacteristically somber look flickered over his features.

"But how did you find them?" Tris pressed, missing his frown as he turned back to his plate.

"I looked," he said guardedly, meeting Eliatra's gaze.

"He used the Force," she said, not looking away, "even though I had the neural inhibitors on. I couldn't feel the Force, but you… you could feel me." She frowned at him. "Why couldn't Austrina?"

Tris remained silent for once, staring back and forth between the two of them.

"I don't know," Orion said slowly, rubbing the back of his neck. "They said you were too far away. But I was in Theed, too. I just… reached out, I guess."

"And you could 'reach' farther than a Jedi Master?" Tris asked skeptically.

"Don't ask me to explain it," Orion scowled, then softened. "Sorry. I just… it's been a long few days."

Tris patted his back consolingly. "Don't worry about it. Let me tell you all the news that we've had while you were gone…"

Eliatra focused on her dinner and her inner dialogue as the other padawans chatted. Now that she thought about it, she had always been somewhat close to Orion. Masters and padawans usually formed bonds of some sort, so it wasn't surprising that two friends could also bond in a similar fashion. But enough that he could sense her at such a far distance that she was even beyond her Master's reach? Was it all simply because of the way he felt about her?

The questions threatened to make her head pound again, and _that_ thought made her remember the Sith that had reached steely fingers into her mind and wrenched out her memories. Suddenly sick to her stomach, she pushed her plate away and excused herself, claiming tiredness and making her way out of the dining hall before Tris could stop her.

Her feet carried her to the cool gardens outside the academy, their light scent refreshing in the evening. The first stars were beginning to wink into existence above her and she finally collapsed onto a stone bench beside a fountain, shutting her eyes to everything: the Queen, the Sith, the bloodshed, the sacrifice… so much death had happened these last few days, much of it by her own hands. She opened her eyes again and found Orion's blue ones replacing the stars above.

"I had to lose Tris," he said apologetically. "What happened?"

She released a sigh and frowned hopelessly up at him. "Everything."

"C'mere." He motioned for her to sit up and sat down behind her, letting her lay her head back in his lap. "You have to let it go," he said softly.

"It's never going to get better," she said, focusing on the distant silver specks above them. "People are always going to have to die around us, even if it's not directly by our hands. And you and I—we're not even supposed to be dealing with it like this." She let a rough laugh escape her throat. "If the Masters had their way, we'd be having a frank discussion over… over _meditation,_ or something. It's all so detached. How can they just let all this happen and move on?"

"I think it's the only way they can," he said softly. "If you get too involved, it can take hold of you… change you into something else. But this, _this_ isn't bad. Is it?" He brushed her cheek, making her shift to look up at him. "This is how we can survive. Together."

"But how can we if everyone is against us?" she whispered.

"Because it's the only way I can make it," he replied, bending close. "With you."


	27. Calm

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Calm**

**

* * *

**

_Eliatra burned. Her skin crackled with heat, withered with dryness. Her tongue scraped across sandpaper lips to no avail, breath coming in rasping heaves as she stared him down._

_Him._

_The yellow-eyed Sith from Naboo. The one who had made himself a guest in her dreams every night, the one constant in the variations of her nightmares. _

_Her knees ached against gritty desert ground and her eyes watered in the red sun above his head. He filled her vision, rancid breath rotting in her nostrils. She tried to choke out the smell, but it pervaded her senses utterly and wrung tears from her dusty eyes._

"_Tell me your name." _

_There wasn't so much a voice as a rumbling within her skull. The sense immediately turned her stomach into knots, but there was nothing to rise up her throat but fear._

"_Go away," she spat, working not to tremble. Her voice rose in pitch. "You don't belong here. You're dead! You're _dead!_"_

"_TELL ME." He leaned closer and gripped her arms, shaking her. "TELL ME OR HE DIES."_

"_Why do you want to know?" she sobbed, struggling against him. "Why do you even care? I'm a padawan! Just a padawan!"_

_Her ears roared and the shaking grew more violent, pinning her down. She fought him and worked a hand free, slinging back to strike his face with all the force her exhausted frame could muster, and her knuckles collided—_

—with flesh and bone and suddenly her face was cool, damp, and Orion was cursing as he recoiled from the bed, rubbing his cheek with a rueful glance in her direction. "Well, that'll be the last time I try to wake _you_ up from a nightmare."

Eliatra blinked and dizzily tried to orient herself. Faint moonlight filtered through her open window as well as a chilly breeze that bit at her tearstained cheeks. Her covers were tangled around her arms and legs, her limbs sticky with sweat. Her knuckles ached. "Sorry," she muttered, swiping at her face. "I just…"

"It was the Sith again, wasn't it?" The lanky padawan cautiously returned to her bedside and perched at the foot of her mattress.

She gave a tiny nod and tried to dismiss the still-vivid memory. "Of all the things I went through on Naboo, you wouldn't think _that_ would be the one to come back and haunt me."

Orion shrugged. "The Force acts in mysterious ways," he intoned, doing such an accurate impression of Master Vandar's gruff voice that Eli couldn't help smiling.

"Why are you in here, anyway? It's way too early for you to be up." She glanced at the bedside chrono to double-check the time and grimaced. It would be at least two hours before the rest of the enclave began to rise and prepare for the day.

"Just a hunch you might not be sleeping well." He paused, something on the tip of his tongue, then shook his head imperceptibly and offered her a smile. "And I have something for us to do today _instead_ of hanging around the infirmary and healing scraped knees."

Eli grinned back at his enthusiasm. In the weeks since their return from Naboo, Orion had been helping her train her combat skills with her off hand while her right arm healed. In return, she had been tutoring his Force healing, and she had insisted that he master the basics before moving on to more complicated healing. Orion, of course, had bridled at the tedious work, though the younglings found him exceedingly entertaining.

"Oh? What's that?"

"It's a surprise." He beamed roguishly and leaned forward to plant a light kiss on her lips. "We'll be leaving right after breakfast, so pack a bag for a day's outing… and include a change of nice civvie clothes. Your tunic is _unacceptable _where we're going."

"Is that so?" She pondered what he had planned, but a wide yawn interrupted her thoughts and Orion seemed to realize the time.

"I'd better let you get back to sleep," he said a little sheepishly. He squeezed her hands and gave her a goodbye kiss, lingering a little longer this time. "Sorry for waking you up."

Eli held on to his hands as he started to pull away. "No, don't be sorry. Thank you. It was awful." She hesitated, remembering, then shook it off and dredged up an apologetic half-smile. "I'm sorry I hit you."

"I'll just prod you with a nice, long stick next time," he suggested, standing and stretching. "Get some sleep, now. Unless you want me to stay?"

"Get out of here," she laughed and shooed him toward the window. "And shut that on your way out, please. It's freezing in here."

"Will do." He squeezed out the window with apparent ease and gave her one last grin as he slid the pane shut and vanished.

Trisana didn't fail to notice the leather knapsack slung over Eliatra's shoulder when she arrived at breakfast a few hours later. "What's that for?" she asked by way of greeting as Eli seated herself on Orion's other side and started smearing fruit jelly on a biscuit.

"Eli and I are running a little mission for Master Khvee today," Orion explained, washing down his half-finished breakfast with a swig of caf. "A farm north of Khoonda reported problems with a pack of kath hounds bothering their livestock. We're going to clear them out."

"So, community service," Tris summarized, but she sounded envious. "Need an extra hand? I'm itching to get away from the enclave for a little while."

Eli grimaced, unnoticed. Under ordinary circumstances she would have accepted Tris's offer in a heartbeat, but she doubted Orion had figured their friend into whatever plans he'd set up. Tris had so far remained oblivious to Eli and Orion's blossoming relationship, but as a result Eli hadn't been spending much time with her, and she felt a pang of guilt at her neglect.

Orion seemed to have thought this part of his plan through, however. "Sorry, Trissy," he said, sounding genuinely regretful, "there're only two seats in the speeder. Anyway, I wanted to monitor how well Eli does with her off hand in some actual combat, and it'll be hard to do that if you kill all the kath hounds before we can get to them." He grinned teasingly down at Tris and she poked him in the arm, flushing slightly.

Eliatra leaned around Orion to catch her friend's eye. "Don't worry, we'll make sure you can come along next time."

Tris shrugged offhandedly. "No worries." But her ice-blue gaze followed them silently out of the hall.

"So what's the real plan?" Eli asked once they had reached the cool quiet of the speeder bay.

Orion confidently led the way to a small two-seater with chipped blue paint. He glanced down at her, brow raised. "What makes you think we aren't going to hunt kath hounds?"

"'Nice civvie clothes'?" she reminded him. "I don't think kath hounds _or_ farmers care if we're wearing our Jedi tunics." She clambered over the side and stuffed her bag into a storage compartment, Orion following suit with his own knapsack.

"That's because they don't." He keyed an authorization code into the speeder console and raised his voice as the engine powered up. "It's what we're doing _after_ that requires the change of clothes."

"Oh." Eli fell silent as Orion steered the speeder out of the bay and accelerated across the across the grass, headed east. The brisk fall air rushed around the windshield and she huddled into her cloak, glad for the thick fabric. Winters were short but brutal on Dantooine, and autumn always bore a bite that struck hard after the long, languid summer. She rested her right arm on the edge of the door and absently rubbed her still-stiff elbow, lost in thought. Her cast had been off about a week, but her muscles still showed the lack of exercise. Even the combat moves that seemed ingrained in her muscle memory came haltingly, her saber hilt feeling like a ten-pound brick instead of the sturdy, compact device she was used to. Her off hand wasn't much better, but daily work with Orion was starting to pay off, and she was seeing marginal improvement over the initial awkwardness.

"Did you ask Austrina?" she asked suddenly, remembering her master's harried expression when asked about the possibility of dual-wielding training. The council had occupied much more of her time than usual in the previous weeks.

"After a fashion," he said evasively. On noticing her dubious look, he elaborated, "I left a note on her door that you'd be unavailable until later tonight."

He glanced at her, clearly hoping this would be explanation enough, but she prodded, "And?"

"…And I signed it 'Khvee.'"

Eliatra breathed out through her nose. He always had to do things the hard way. The _against-the-rules_ way. "And what happens when she runs into him today and wonders what his plans were?"

"She won't. He's gone to Kalviss for a couple days on business. Some tip on smugglers from Nar Shaddaa trafficking Twi'leks through the little starport there." Kalviss was a tiny settlement on the other side of the planet, mainly used for exporting raw materials from other parts of the planet. Its lack of affiliation with the Jedi meant it was at once neglected by official business travel and occasionally targeted by less-than-legal travelers.

"If it's council business, she'll know that's where he is. And she'll also know you're not with him, and he never would've had me come along without asking her first."

"No, but she _does_ know he trusts me to take care of little things like this when he's away. She just doesn't know he didn't also ask you to come with me." He grinned triumphantly at her.

"She could just call him on the comm."

"It's been…out of commission, lately." He smirked.

"Why didn't you just ask Austrina? I'm sure she would've been fine with it. It's practical, official, useful…"

"Because," he explained slowly, "culling a pack of kath hounds isn't going to take us _all day_. This just gives us a little more time together." He glanced at her again, eyes pleading. "C'mon, Eli. I know you hate having to hide… us… as much as I do."

"Oh, alright," she groused, consternation fading. He meant well, even if he didn't like to do things by the book. And he was right, of course. Austrina would have been suspicious if he'd simply asked her outright about taking Eli out for the day. As busy as she'd been, Eliatra couldn't hide the thought that she must be watching them _somehow._ "I just wish you wouldn't sneak around so much."

"I wish I didn't have to," he countered. "If the masters found out…"

He didn't have to finish.

The Fallanet estate was a sprawling affair, patrolled only by a single security droid at this hour of the morning. Orion parked the speeder by the main entrance and jumped out with practiced ease, announced their appointment with Teseel Fallanet, and seated himself on the edge of a planter while the droid went inside to fetch its master.

Eliatra stood uneasily near him, flexing her right forearm and wondering if she was really up to fighting a bunch of kath hounds. A week or two longer might have been nice to work her ability up closer to its former state.

"You think the rumors are true?" Orion asked suddenly, squinting up at her. "About us getting knighted?"

"I'm only sixteen," she pointed out doubtfully. "Most don't get knighted until their twenties, at least."

"Your birthday's next week," he reminded her. "And I'd say we've been through more than most by now."

"What about padawans on Coruscant? I'm sure they get to experience a lot more than we do. We're probably country hicks to them."

"Eli, Master Austrina trusted you to be one of the _only_ Jedi near the Queen during her coronation. I think that says a lot about how much they believe in you."

"And look how much good that did," she muttered darkly.

He clucked disapproval and tugged her down beside him. "Don't start that again. You did as well as anyone could have. Probably better."

She ducked her head, blushing, but her reply was interrupted as the protocol droid returned, trailed by a tall, darkly-tanned man. Orion stood abruptly and crossed the distance between them, introducing himself with a handshake. "Teseel?"

"You must be the Jedi that the Council sent." He eyed them both, taking in Eli's petite stature with apparent doubt.

Feeling the need to remedy any false impressions, she offered her own hand. "I'm Padawan Eliatra Sabre, and this is my… colleague, Orion Rivalen. You said you had a kath hound problem?"

Assuaged by her professionalism, he nodded and planted his hands in his pockets. "Aye. Pack of 'em have been huntin' my nerfs, takin' down the little ones. I'd go after 'em myself, but there's an albino, maybe two, and I haven't got the blasters to take 'em down with."

"We'll take care of them," Orion informed him. "Where did you last see them?"

"By my north pastures." Teseel pointed past the crest of a hill not far off. "Once you start seein' my nerfs, you'll know to start lookin'."

"We'll be back later," Orion said, nodded goodbye, and turned to get back into the speeder.

"Two albino kath hounds?" Eliatra asked as soon as they were out of earshot and Orion was starting up the speeder again. "How are the two of us supposed to handle that, _plus_ a pack of who-knows-how-many smaller kath hounds?" Albinos were a rare variant of the usual horned kath hounds, massive carnivorous beasts with thick skull plates and near-impenetrable hides.

"Eli, you survived an assassination and kidnapping attempt on Naboo, and you're worried about some local wildlife?"

She set her jaw and scanned the horizon as they crested the hill. Orion was right. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to argue so much today; anxiety pulled at her fingertips and she fiddled with the hem of her cloak sleeves. Fighting a bunch of kath hounds should be the least of her worries. At least kath hounds didn't try to Force choke you.

They finally started spotting nerfs grazing in shaggy clumps of eight to twelve, their horned heads rising to watch the speeder with curiosity as it passed them by. The beasts were something of a rarity as a herd animal on Dantooine, being less hardy than the more-exported bantha, but their meat was highly profitable and these looked well cared for, their sides glossy and sleek.

Eliatra squinted past them to the distant sandy-walled ridge, trying to make out the silhouette of a kath hound. She was about to give up and suggest Orion try a new direction when what she'd first taken as a pale boulder shifted against the sky and loped away over the hilltop. "There," she pointed toward its absence. "I think they saw us."

"Maybe." He shifted the engine down a gear and brought it low the ground, thrumming along slowly. "It's hard to say at this distance. Although if they're used to seeing the herders on speeders…"

"We're going to have to walk if we want to get close."

Orion grimaced and flew the speeder a few more meters before letting it idle to a stop. "I thought we'd be able to get closer than this. Sorry, El."

She jumped out and made sure her knapsack was stored safely out of sight before stretching and double-checking her saber hit. "A little walk isn't going to kill us. Well, maybe you."

He joined her side as they started wading through the waist-high grass toward the ridge. "If I fall and twist my ankle, will you carry me back?" He batted his eyelashes flirtatiously.

"I don't know how much carrying would be involved," she teased back. "It'd probably be more like dragging by one foot."

"My savior," he grinned, slinging an arm around her shoulders. A contented sigh escaped his lips as they walked for a few minutes in silence, and she guessed by the faint furrow in his brow that he was pondering the Council. It sat between them awkwardly, as if the Masters were always hanging over them.

"What if we _were_ knighted?" he asked suddenly. "We wouldn't have to stick around here anymore…"

"And what?" she asked, humoring him. "What would we do, Orion?"

"Run away," he said logically, then amended, "Well, we wouldn't have to _run,_ I guess. We could go fight evil together. You know, slavers, dark Jedi… Mandalorians. No one would have to know about us. We could be a team."

"We would still have to hide this," she pointed out, "at least in front of the other Jedi. Getting away from here won't _help_, Orion. It just makes us less conspicuous."

"Maybe that's all we need. Think about it, Eli. We can't be the _only_ Jedi to have ever done this."

"Done what?" They had reached the foot of the bluff, and Eli turned to face him, arms crossed. He always hedged around the topic, refusing to name it, as if doing so meant announcing it to the galaxy. Eliatra hated it, hated the insecurity it etched in her whenever she wondered why he wouldn't say those simple words.

"You know." Orion shifted on his heels and eyed the grassy tufts hanging over the top of the ridge about ten feet up. "We can probably jump that," he suggested.

"Do I?" She ignored the latter comment and stepped toward him, letting her pent-up frustration seethe behind her eyes. "You keep talking about running away, Orion, and you whisk me off to Force-knows-where on these _mysterious adventures,_ and spend all this time with me, but never, not _once,_ can you say how you feel!"

He finally locked gazes with her and his eyes spread wide at the anger rolling off her shoulders. Her hands had dropped to her hips and her fingers itched a little too closer to her saber hilt. Orion scrambled for words. "Eli, I just—isn't this enough for you? I mean—It should be obvious—"

"If it's so obvious, why can't you say it? Because it's not _true_?"

The words hung in the air for an instant. He gaped and found a footing, seizing her shoulders as she trembled in the space between screaming and sobbing. "Eli, I love you, damnit. _I love you._ Don't ever doubt it."

She collapsed into his chest, utterly spent. "I'm sorry," she whispered, barely audible.

"You're silly," he whispered back, rubbing between her shoulder blades.

"I know." The storm was over as quickly as it had come, but she felt as if the weight of years had been washed away. "Orion?"

"Hmm."

"I love you, too."

"I know." He set a kiss on top of her head and steadied her, rubbing his hands together. "Are you ready to do this now?"

"Yeah." Eliatra tugged her tunic straight and took a breath as she glanced to the sky. "I'm ready."

The kath hounds were relaxing beneath a grove of trees a few hundred feet from the edge of the bluff, and the two padawans kneeled in the grass to hide themselves as they strategized.

"One albino, two horned, and… four, five smaller ones?" Eliatra counted, squinting through the grass. "How are we going to handle them all at once?"

"We have to keep some busy so we don't have them all attacking at the same time." Orion eyed her for a second. "I don't want you in the fray while your arm's still not up to the task, so you'd better take defense and I'll get in close to knock them out. Can you handle a stasis field from a distance?"

"I can get some of them," she said, surveying the pack. "I don't know about the albino, though. He's big."

"Just do your best." He patted her arm and crept through the grass, vanishing from sight as he pulled a cloaking shield around himself. Eliatra followed him as close to the pack as she dared, freezing every time one of the russet heads turned her way. The albino was a monster, all bulky shoulders and gnarled horns, easily as tall at the back as Orion was. He was clearly the alpha male, standing guard at the edge of the pack while the smaller hounds dozed.

_Now,_ Orion's Force-voice thrummed into her consciousness. Eliatra shut her eyes and cast out to the warm bodies, feeling the life-force that pumped through their veins, and clenched her fists tightly. Two were sleeping and didn't fight her, but the albino and one of the horned Kath hounds struggled against her hold. Savage fury struck at her control, and she opened her eyes to see Orion closing the distance between him and the pack, visible now. One of the smaller rust-furred hounds leapt away from her hold and Orion's saber flashed across its chest, mowing it down before its snapping jaws could close on his face. He plunged a saber into another and raced for the nearest horned kath hound, knowing the largest had the potential to do the most damage.

Eliatra stood and ran toward them as quickly as she could while still maintaining control, though it was draining. The albino seemed to sense her waning strength and lashed out even harder.

Orion struck a killing blow to the first horned kath hound and turned to the next.

The albino _roared._ It snapped from her stasis and broke her control over the others, and the formerly peaceful grove erupted in a whirlwind of snarling jaws and bloodied limbs.

"Orion!" Eliatra doubled her pace and sprang at the pack, saber igniting mid-air as two hounds leapt toward her, spit flying and ugly jaws outstretched. Her cyan blade cut into the first, driving a squeal of pain from its throat, but the second intersected her and the three went tumbling to the ground. Pain shot through her calf, vicious teeth finding a purchase near the top of her boot. Gasping, she whipped her saber overhead and plunged it into her attacker's neck, scrambling to her feet to find Orion as it collapsed with a whimper.

He was under attack from the remaining horned kath hound and the last small hound, both dodging his swings as they darted in to attack him. The albino was barreling toward them, fairly shaking the earth with its weight.

Eliatra flung a Force wave at it, but the beast barely lost its balance before turning around to spot her. Deciding she was a better target, it howled and charged her. There was no way she could simply strike it down—its sheer momentum would bowl her over in seconds and she'd be done for if its powerful jaws got a hold of her. Seized by an impulse of Orion-worthy bravado, she crouched and leapt to the side as it reached her. It turned to snap as it passed by, and she dug her hands into the thick mane of silvery hair at its shoulders and let its momentum swing her up over the bony plate at the back of its neck. Suddenly she found herself straddling the exceedingly uncomfortable spined back of a beast that was equal parts confused and enraged. It spun in circles, attempting to turn its short neck far enough to snap at her knees.

Orion yelled something and ran toward her, but she couldn't make anything out amidst all the spinning. She felt her purchase slipping and scrambled for her saber, which had switched off at some point between being on the ground and landing atop the albino. Gripping with her knees as tightly as she could, she planted her hilt saber-end-down against the bony plate and ignited it.

The beast shuddered to a halt and staggered, moaning bloodily. Eliatra withdrew her saber and rode the albino to the ground, extracting herself from the spines as it twitched in its death throes.

The silence of the grove was interrupted by a slow clapping. Eli looked up from checking damage to her clothing to see Orion—equally disheveled and bloody—slowly applauding her, a grin spreading across his face. "You never cease to amaze me," he said simply.

"I try," she replied, and grimaced as she took a step. "One of them got me."

"I'll heal you if you heal me," he offered, holding out his own bloodied forearm.

"Deal. I'll go first."

Once their wounds were sufficiently tended to and Orion had earned a thank-you kiss for his efforts, the two trudged back to the speeder, leaving the evidence of their work behind.

"So, just to get this clear," Eliatra said once they were on their way back to the Fallanet estate, "you _did_ get permission from the Council to run this mission, right?"

Orion had lapsed into a contented silence, and he glanced at her now with mild curiosity. "From Master Khvee, yes."

"He thought you could do it by yourself?"

"Are you insinuating I couldn't?" He feigned injury, blue eyes sparkling. "If I remember correctly, I took out the _majority_ of those hounds before you came over to help."

"You couldn't have done it so easily if I wasn't holding them still for you. You might as well have been fighting rocks."

"Fair enough," he conceded with a grin, then sobered. "To be honest, I doubt he knew how many there actually were. I'm sure I could've muddled through on my own, but he probably expected me to bring someone along, anyway."

"You just didn't tell him."

"Right."

"What if you'd died? They could have torn you to shreds out there, easily. I don't know if I've ever seen a kath hound as big as that albino."

"You seemed to manage him okay," he pointed out dryly.

"Sheer luck," she countered, then amended, "Or maybe just the Force. Either way…"

"But I didn't die," he said reasonably, "even overlooking the fact that I don't think you're giving me enough credit. I promise you, El, kath hounds _will not _be the end of me. I'll probably die of old age, crusting up in an enclave corner somewhere. You're worrying for no reason."

She sighed and leaned back in her seat. He was right, as usual.

Orion noticed her discontent and patted her shoulder. "Cheer up. I've got plans for this afternoon, remember? Something to take your mind off Mr. Ugly-Face back there."

They arrived at the estate and were promptly greeted by Teseel Fallanet, who was both ecstatic to hear that his nerfs were safe once more, and appropriately concerned at their appearance. He squinted at the dangling strips of cloth on Orion's tunic sleeve, and the holes in Eliatra's pants, soaked at the edges with drying blood. "You two are a right mess, eh? Can I offer you a change of clothes, or…?"

"Just a place to change, actually," Orion suggested, glancing meaningfully at the pack slung over Eli's shoulder. "We brought spare clothes."

"Good thinking," Teseel approved, and led them into his spacious home. Eliatra waited in the airy foyer while Orion changed in a guest washroom, making small talk with Teseel while gazing around at the tastefully arranged furniture.

_It'd be nice to have a place like this someday_, she found herself thinking wistfully. The architecture was typical for an affluent Dantooinian estate, sturdy and classic with high skylights that made the room glow. A young curly-haired girl bolted into the room just as Orion emerged in a royal blue dress shirt that set off his eyes brilliantly; he kneeled to greet her as she skidded to a halt in front of him, her own dark eyes wide at his unfamiliarity.

"Don't charm her too much," Eli teased quietly as she passed Orion on her way in to the washroom.

Her own dress outfit was one Austrina had purchased for their trip to Coruscant earlier that year but she had never gotten a chance to wear; she had almost forgotten what it looked like until she shrugged the fluttery crimson silk over her head. The shirt hugged her waist and whispered around her collarbones, its see-through collar resting at the base of her neck as the current style dictated. Eli admired the long flared sleeves before extricating herself from her ruined trousers and pulling on a nicer black pair, then stepping back into her boots. The leather was definitely torn from the kath hound's bite, but there was a local merchant who could probably repair them to a workable state. Stuffing her old clothes back into her sack, she donned her cloak again and stepped out to see Orion chatting with Teseel and holding the girl—Teseel's daughter—on his hip. She pointed to Eli and he turned expectantly, brows rising in silent appreciation of her new outfit.

Orion returned the girl to her father and, exchanging final pleasantries, the two departed and climbed back into the speeder just as the overcast sky began to threaten rain. The engine thrummed to life and Orion steered it east, glancing at Eli once they were skimming comfortably over Dantooine's rolling landscape.

"Just when I was starting to think that 'blood-spattered' was your most attractive look, you proved me wrong," he commented.

Eli couldn't hold back a grin. "You clean up alright yourself, mister. I didn't know you owned anything that wasn't brown and shapeless."

"Got me there," he laughed. "I borrowed this from Kael."

"You shouldn't give it back. It fits you too well," she said, only half-joking.

"I'll see what I can do."

They arrived at the tiny lakeside town of Akhaa half an hour later, one that Eliatra had seldom visited on account of its lack of interest to the Jedi academy. Orion turned to her as he switched off the speeder and stowed their belongings out of sight. "Now, you just have to follow one rule while we're here," he said seriously, despite the telltale glee in his eyes. "We aren't Jedi."

"We're not?" Eli played along.

"No," he said firmly. "We're settlers—no, off-worlders considering settling near Achoo—"

"Akhaa," Eli corrected.

"Whatever. And we're deeply in love—you don't have to pretend that part—" Eli grinned, "—and we're just spending time in town to see what the locals are like. Any questions?"

"Aren't we a little young to be settlers?"

"I'm going to be eighteen in a few months, and you're almost seventeen, remember? Besides, people run away to do stuff like this all the time."

"I suppose," she consented.

"Then let's go."

He led the way down the main thoroughfare, pointing out things of interest as they went: a general store, a sculpture of a "Captain Harley Akhaa" holding a blaster with a foot propped against a rock, a café, a gift shop.

"What kind of gifts could you possibly buy from a town as small as this?" Eli wondered.

"Let's find out," Orion suggested gallantly.

Although the shop's owner—a tiny, wizened woman who had probably spent the better part of her life working Dantooine's fields—tried to sell them her most expensive items, which resided under a heavy blanket of dust, Eliatra finally settled on an airy black scarf, paid for by Orion.

They spent the rest of the afternoon ducking in and out of shops, browsing for agricultural equipment, inquiring about room rates in the town's only hotel, and investigating the price of undeveloped land bordering Lake Tevvet ("Not that expensive," Orion had remarked upon leaving the real estate office. "As long as you're willing to deal with nests of kinrath _everywhere_.")

After stopping for an early dinner at the Iriaz Rider Café, the two left the town in satisfied contentment. Eliatra dozed in the passenger seat while Orion drove them back to the enclave, their hands intertwined between them.

She didn't wake until the engine switched off and Orion shook her awake beneath the artificial lights of the speeder bay. Rain drummed the ground outside the open bay doors. "Time to get up," he told her softly. "I'd carry you, but someone'd probably see us, and you know how gossip travels around here."

"I know," she sighed, stretching.

They walked into the academy in amiable silence and had paused to say goodbye before heading to their separate rooms, when someone entered the otherwise-empty foyer.

"Eli! Orion!" Trisana recognized the two before they realized who she was. They broke apart before she got to them, Eli crossing her arms over her chest as she remembered how un-Jedilike she was dressed. Whatever news Trisana had momentarily died on her lips as she scanned them up and down. "I thought you were fighting kath hounds?" she asked slowly, pale eyes lingering on the scarf slung around Eli's neck.

"We were," Eli said hurriedly, turning her leg to point out her torn boot. "See? Orion healed my leg, but my boot's ruined for sure. One of them bit me and…"

"What've you been up to today?" Orion interrupted, sensing her desperation to change the topic.

Thankfully, Tris decided to drop it, though the skeptical look she leveled at Eli plainly said _we'll talk later._ "Nothing," she said dismissively, then leaned toward them, eyes glowing with importance. "Except you'll never guess who's at the enclave _right now._"

"Who, Tris?" Orion asked dutifully.

"Revan Terala and Alek Kairn'si," she said urgently. "Remember, the Knights who left a few years back? They used to be padawans here on Dantooine?"

"Yes?" Eliatra replied curiously.

"They're back," Tris breathed. "And they want the Jedi to fight the Mandalorians."


End file.
